Number Unknown
by Belle A Lestrange
Summary: Levi gets a random message one day from an unknown number. 2 weeks after their initial exchange Levi and 'Brat' gradually get to know one another. It's exciting and terrifying at the same time. However, Levi doesn't want to scare the kid off by revealing his age. He begins letting his guard down and hopes that the kid doesn't freak out when Levi finally reveals who he really is.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **This is my first time ever writing an Attack on Titan fanfiction. I am trying to keep the characters as canon as possible, however if you feel like I'm veering off to the side or not, please feel free to let me know. POLITELY, of course.**

 **I would like to thank FanofBellaandEdward in advance for being my proof-reader as my spell-check has gone up the spout. Again.**

 **Before we begin, I want to pre-warn people that this is a modern AU and is set in England. You don't necessarily NEED to know town names or locations to get the gist of anything set around them, but if you're curious you are more than welcome to google!**

 **Now, let's begin!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS ITALICS_

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **~0~**

It was a generic Wednesday evening when it happened. That's what he told himself at least. The sun was hanging low in the sky already and the hum of the TV was the only sound that helped to fill the comfortable silence that he reclined in. Turning a page in his book, he let out a soft sigh. He had a stack of papers to grade for the following week, far too many really, but he didn't have the energy to even glance at them just yet.

It was barely halfway into the spring term and the workload was already piling up.

Outside the window of his living-room the sky darkened with the promise of rain. He let out another sigh, scowling a little at his book. It was going to be a pain tomorrow morning. He'd need to leave early to make-up for the delay the rain would cause.

"Perfect," he grunted as he marked his place in the book and set it on the coffee table. Glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece he decided that it was too early for dinner. Maybe he would have to grade those papers, just to have something to do.

The small kitchen was 'claustrophobic' to most people but he often found himself feeling cosy enough in the small, clean environment. It was easier to maintain and he lived alone, so he didn't need a huge, extravagant kitchen as it was. The few times he did entertain his medley of moronic friends, they ordered take-aways.

Turing the hob on he poured oil into the frying pan and let it heat up.

Beyond the wall in the hallway, people shuffled back and forth as people returned home from work. Something twinged inside him but he brushed the feeling aside. He wasn't much of a people-person. The fact that he'd managed to find a job with a decent salary as well as a small, tight circle of friends was nothing short of a miracle.

The pan sizzled, flecks of oil staining the hob. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. He'd have to clean that up later. Frying up diced peppers, pork and bacon, he made a basic fry-up and served it within ten minutes. In his small flat, he barely had room for his dining table but he had insisted upon moving-in that he needed one. The TV was playing a documentary that he'd wanted to see for a long time. As he ate he paid careful attention, his lips quirking every now and again as the new knowledge sank into his brain. Once he'd eaten he decided that he needed to do some grading.

He drew the stack of essays toward him.

The TV dulled to a faint buzz to his ears. He hunched over a little as his eyes scanned through the inexperienced words of teenagers, his red pen resting idly in his right hand, ready to strike words out at a moments notice, when his phone buzzed shattering his little bubble.

' _Who the fuck is ringing me?_ ' he thought, frowning over at the lit-up screen.

He tried to igore his phone. However the second time it buzzed he growled, throwing his pen down and storming over to swipe his phone off the table. It was two text messages. Gritting his teeth, he opened the messages and read them.

(19:12) _These gits are such masochists!_

(19:57) _Dude seriously?! Answer your phone!_

Cocking an eyebrow derisively, he scrolled up who had sent him the message. Number unknown. His fingers hovered over the pad for a moment before another message came through.

(20:03) _So how many teachers will I have to kill before I can get out of this assignment?_

~0~

(20:07) **I'm not about to lecture you on how writing an essay is much easier than murder but … I feel like I should.**

(20:08) _Huh? You literally bitched and whined about the assignment the entire evening!_

(20:09) **Regardless, murder requires a lot of brain power and you've already shot yourself in the foot.**

(20:10) _In … what way?_

(20:11) **Paper trail? Texts can be read by police**.

(20:12) _The fact that you know this makes me worried about your dedication to this._

(20:13) **There's no reason we both have to go down for it.**

(20:15) **Now what you need to do is make sure that you don't have a paper trail. Code-names were invented for a reason. Just like morse code. Create a system that only the criminals can understand.**

(20:16) _I'm not about to learn morse code!_

(20:17) **It's probably easier than speaking Chinese.**

(20:17) _That's –What?! That's not even the point!_

(20:18) **I feel like you're overcomplicating your evening.**

(20:20) _There's nothing complicated! It's either figuring out how Pythagorus' Theorum actually works or the possible massacre of my teachers. It seems like a fairly simple decision._

(20:21) **Then maybe triangles aren't for you?**

(20:22) _Dude, seriously, what's up? You're being a douche._

(20:23) _OMG! This isn't Armin is it?_

(20:23) **No. It's not.**

(20:24) _Why the hell would you let me prattle on like that?_

(20:25) **You were talking about murdering some innocent teachers. I felt as though I should try and talk you out of jail.**

(20:26) _I am mortified!_

(20:27) **Good. Maybe this will teach you some censorship in regards to that brain of yours.**

(20:29) _Are you … Are you calling me stupid?!_

(20:30) **I thought we already established that you were. Or was I not clear?**

(20:31) _You didn't outright say it!_

(20:32) **Was the paper trail comment not enough?**

(20:33) _Hey, fuck you! I'm not stupid!_

(20:34) **You just begged a strange for advice on how to kill your teachers. That doesn't sound like a genius from my end of things.**

(20:35) _It's a new phone!_

(20:36) **Hardly a reason.**

(20:37) _It is!_

(20:38) **Is not.**

(20:39) _IT IS!_

(20:40) **Oh dear, you caps-locked me. You've put me right in my place.**

(20:42) _… You know, I can feel the sarcasm from here._

(20:43) **Considering you could be in Scotland for all I know, I'm fairly impressed with myself.**

(20:44) _God, I'm so embarrassed._

(20:45) **Don't be. You've been thoroughly entertaining.**

(20:46) _Um … I'm glad?_

(20:46) _Do you get off on misery and embarrassment or something?_

(20:47) **So what if I do?**

(20:48) _… Suddenly I want to throw my phone at the wall._

(20:49) **I don't recommend it.**

(20:53) **To set your mind at ease, I do not get-off on your embarrassment, though you have managed to make my night more bearable.**

(20:56) _I feel like everything you say is getting me stuck between a rock and a hard place._

(20:58) **That's most people's impression of me.**

(21:00) **As amusing as you've been I have work to finish before the morning.**

(21:03) _Okay. I'm sorry I bothered you._

(21:06) **It's okay. It could have been a lot worse for you.**

(21:06) _In what way?_

(21:07) _No wait! I don't want to know._

(21:10) **Good choice.**

(21:13) **Word of advice? Don't bother with the murdering. Stick with the essay-writing. You'll find you have to burn less clothing that way.**

(21:19) _Wait … have you had to do that?_

(21:21) **Another time. Goodnight.**

(21:25) _Yeah …_ _Night._

* * *

 **A/N: So, yes it is a texting story. At least it starts out this way. Let me know how you feel about it :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites. It really means a lot to me that so many people enjoy my writing!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS ITALICS_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **~0~**

 ** _TWO WEEKS LATER_**

 **~0~**

 **Friday PM**

.

(18:33) _Hi … again._

(18:37) **Hello.**

(18:38) _Wow okay. For a moment I wasn't sure if you would reply._

(18:40) **You text my number. What did you think was going to happen?**

(18:41) _To get a message that my number had been blocked?_

(18:42) **Do you want me to block your number?**

(18:43) _No?_

(18:46) _I don't really know. I've gone over our last conversation and –I don't know –you seem cool._

(18:51) **Above all things, kid, I am not 'cool'.**

(18:52) _You kept messaging me after I made an arse of myself. That's pretty cool to me._

(18:53) _And hey! I'm not a fucking kid!_

(18:56) **Sure you're not, kid.**

(18:57) **So why are you suddenly messaging me again? More elaborate crimes you want me to incriminate you for in court?**

(18:58) _Haha um no? I'm just home by myself. It's rare and I don't really deal well with being bored._

(18:59) **I can tell. You're by yourself, in a dark house, texting a stranger.**

(19:01) **How do you know I'm not watching you right now?**

(19:02) _OMG NO! ARE YOU? I'M SERIOUSLY FREAKED OUT RIGHT NOW!_

(19:04) **Jeez, kid, I was joking.**

(19:05) _WERE YOU?_

(19:07) **YES NOW STOP USING CAPITAL LETTERS OR I'LL GIVE YOU THE HEADACHE OF YOUR LIFE.**

(19:08) _Damn who pissed in your cheerios?_

(19:10) **It's night-time. Anyone eating cereal at this time of night is either a moron or a child. Which would you like to be?**

(19:11) _Neither?_

(19:12) **Wrong answer.**

(19:13) _Douche._

(19:16) **Your words hurt me.**

(19:17) _I can tell._

(19:20) **So you really have no plans tonight? No friends to come over and rave?**

(19:21) _I'm not much of a raver. Partier, sure, but rave's are a little beyond me right now._

(19:22) _And no, my friends all seem to be busy tonight._

(19:25) **They didn't invite you?**

(19:26) _Well my sister has a date and Armin stays with his granddad every other weekend._

(19:27) _How about you? No plans._

(19:32) **I'm actually out right now with some colleagues of mine. We go for dinner every Friday night.**

(19:33) _You could have told me if I was distracting you._

(19:36) **You aren't.**

(19:37) _You just said you were out having dinner._

(19:40) **Relax. It's a Chinese restaurant. Beer, rice, chicken and sticky surfaces.**

(19:41) _If you don't like it, why go?_

(19:45) **My friends claim to put up with a lot from me. This is my way of evening-out the playing field.**

(19:46) _Imagine that._

(19:54) **Ah, are you sad that I'm not as sad as you?**

(19:55) _I won't lie, a little._

(19:56) _So …You don't mind me texting you?_

(20:00) **You're entertaining I'll give you that.**

(20:01) _That's not an answer._

(20:02) **It wasn't meant to be.**

(20:03) _So how bored do you have to be to be texting a stranger?_

(20:04) **I'm not bored. My current company … leaves a lot to the imagination.**

(20:05) _Describe them._

(20:06) **A mad-woman and my boss.**

(20:07) _Wow! And you say my Friday night sucks?_

(20:08) _Sorry that was rude._

(20:10) _Are you mad?_

(20:17) _Okay, if you're mad you can just say. I wouldn't exactly blame you._

(20:46) _Okay, I've ordered a pizza and I'm guessing you're still out with your friends so I hope you have a fun night!_

.

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

(12:01) _I figured since you probably went out and got drunk last night that this was the safest time to message you._

(12:02) **Who the fuck is this?**

(12:03) _Oh right, we didn't exchange names._

(12:04) _You can just call me Titan._

(12:09) **Go away.**

(12:10) _Now that's not very nice._

(12:11) **Fuck the fuck off!**

(12:12) _Wow rude. Okay, enjoy hangover HELL._

 _._

 _._

(14:10) **You are a persistent little shit, you know that?**

(14:11) _Well hello to you too._

(14:12) **You can stuff your hello's.**

(14:13) _What happened to you, potty-mouth?_

(14:16) **Drinks happened.**

(14:17) _And?_

(14:18) **More drinks.**

(14:19) _AND?_

(14:22) **There may have been a karaoke incident.**

(14:23) _No way? You did karaoke?_

(14:25) **No. I was headlocked on the karaoke stage and had a mic smached against my cheek.**

(14:26) _Oof, that doesn't sound like fun._

(14:27) **It wasn't.**

(14:28) _Is that why you're being so bitchy?_

(14:30) **I'm not being bitchy. I'm bruised and tired.**

(14:31) _Have you taken painkillers?_

(14:32) **No shit, Sherlock.**

(14:33) _Somehow I sense you're not enjoying talking right now._

(14:36) **Really? What gave it away?**

(14:37) _A few things._

(14:38) _Your text tone._

(14:39) _Your swearing._

(14:40) **Kid, just shut the fuck up okay? My head is about to implode and I can barely focus.**

(14:41) _Sorry … I was kidding …_

(14:56) **I know.**

(14:57) **I don't get hang-overs often. You've just caught me at a bad time.**

(14:58) _Maybe you should have a shower?_

(14:59) _Or a nap?_

(15:01) **Maybe I will.**

(15:03) _Okay well I hope it helps to clear your head._

(15:07) **Same.**

.

.

(17:29) **Sorry about earlier.**

(17:34) _Mmm that is a nice way to wake up. Hello to you too._

(17:35) **You were napping? It's a Saturday afternoon.**

(17:36) _So what?_

(17:37) _I had nothing else to do today with this weather. Gonna have a movie night later on but that's about it._

(17:39) **What movies?**

(17:40) _AGE OF ULTRON, and THE PROPOSAL._

(17:41) **Those two don't really go together.**

(17:43) _I know. I picked one and my sister picked the other._

(17:45) **What about your parents? They with you guys tonight?**

(17:46) _Dude, you sound so creepy!_

(17:47) _Why are you always asking if I'm alone?_

(17:48) **Well, one of us needs to be responsible.**

(17:49) _And … that needs to be you?_

(17:50) _Why?_

(17:52) **The police always check the phones.**

(17:53) **Considering you and I have already discussed murder I could be held accountable.**

(17:54) _I'm sure the police would have more leads than your number on my phone._

(17:55) **I doubt it.**

(17:56) **I'm a very clean person.**

(17:57) **I'd be like DEXTER.**

(18:00) _That's … both chilling and impressive._

(18:01) _If it's true._

(18:02) **Oh, it's true.**

(18:04) _I very nearly said 'prove it' until I realised what that would mean._

(18:05) **Oh for fucks sake.**

(18:06) _What?_

(18:07) **You just had to do it, didn't you?**

(18:08) _I'm sorry! What did I do?_

(18:09) **You made me smile.**

(18:11) _… That's bad because?_

(18:12) **I'm fighting a hangover. I can hear my skin!**

(18:13) **I'm going to have my lips in a sling for a week.**

(18:15) _Not a smiler then?_

(18:17) **What do you think, brat?**

(18:18) _What IS it with you and name-calling?_

(18:20) **Your reactions are funny.**

(18:21) _Arsehole._

(18:22) **Classic.**

(18:26) _Ah, my sister's calling me. The pizzas here and she wants to start early._

(18:28) **Okay, kid. Have fun being baby-sat.**

(18:29) _HEY! How do you know I'M not older?_

(18:30) **That.**

(18:31) _Douche._

(18:32) **Brat.**

.

.

(19:15) _Did you ever notice that the Hulk is just like a big baby without his bottle?_

(19:17) **Are you seriously texting me while watching a movie with your sister?**

(19:18) _Maybe?_

(19:19) _But seriously? Have you not noticed that?_

(19:20) **Can't say that I have.**

(19:21) _Like … a big GREEN baby._

(19:23) **Watch your movie, kid.**

.

.

(21:12) _I really don't get the premise of this movie._

(21:15) **A pushy boss forces her young assistant to marry her in order to keep her visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada.**

(21:17) …

(21:18) _I can use Google too._

(21:19) **Sure you can, kid.**

.

.

(23:48) _There's nothing worse that turning off two movies and going back to regular, shitty TV._

(23:49) **Buy a new one then.**

(23:50) _Huh?_

(23:51) _No, the TV isn't shitty. The show's are._

(23:52) **Same thing.**

(23:53) _It really isn't._

(23:54) **Shouldn't you be in bed?**

(23:55) _Shouldn't you?_

(23:57) **I am in bed. I was reading.**

(23:58) _Oh, shit. Sorry._

(23:58) _What're you reading?_

(00:00) **A Handmaids Tale.**

(00:01) _For school or …?_

(00:03) **Yeah, school.**

(00:05) _Well, it must be a really boring book 'cause I'm yawning from all the way over here._

(00:07) **I feel sorry for your teachers.**

(00:09) _Yeah you probably should. I'm a bit of a shit._

(00:11) **Trust me. I know.**

(00:13) _Anyways, I'm gonna head to bed. TTYL Murderer._

(00:15) **Try not to die, Brat.**

.

.

 **Sunday AM**

.

(9:03) **So did you ever notice that you're talking to a complete strange and you have no clue who I am.**

(9:04) **Or where I am.**

(9:05) **Or how old I am.**

(9:13) _Whyyyyyyyy_

(9:16) **Did I wake you?**

(9:18) _Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_

(9:23) _This is not a time of day._

(9:25) **It's daylight hours, kid. That means you should be awake.**

(9:26) _But it's a Sunday._

(9:28) **What does that have to do with anything?**

(9:32) _I was asleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep_

(9:33) **Clearly.**

(9:35) _Douche_.

(9:36) _Why're you awake anyway on a SUNDAY?_

(9:42) **I just got in from my jog.**

(9:43) _So you woke me up to tell me that? You're an arsehole._

(9:45) **A popular nickname of mine. I've grown immune to that one.**

(9:47) _… Poo._

(9:53) **Are you … Are you SULKING?**

(9:54) **Ha! Knew you were a bratty little kid!**

(9:55) Says the douche who can't handle his drink.

(9:57) **I can handle it just fine.**

(9:58) _Scroll up._

(10:04) **Ah.**

(10:04) **Fuck. Forgot about that. Usually I'm harassing Hange.**

(10:05) _Hange?_

(10:06) **A … friend.**

(10:07) **Well … more like an eager acquaintance.**

(10:08) **Well … more like a rash that won't go away.**

(10:09) _This is how you talk about your friends?_

(10:11) **What?**

(10:13) _It's just … kindda harsh._

(10:15) **So? I don't like people.**

(10:18) _I'm getting that impression._

(10:19) _So why're you still talking to me?_

(10:21) **Yeah you're right.**

(10:22) **Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. Bye.**

(10:24) _NO WAIT! I WAS KIDDING!_

(10:29) _Dude?_

(10:31) _Murderer?_

(10:36) _Oh, come on!_

.

.

(12:15) _Okay, if this some lame sort of revenge it sucks!_

(12:17) _You're actually the worst._

.

.

(14:03) _I've been looking into all these old crime files online and you're right. Murder seems so hard to get away with._

(14:06) _Like … Even preemptive stuff gets found out through strange means._

(14:10) _Suddenly making sense why so many people would burn off their fingerprints to disappear._

.

.

(16:12) **9 messages? Really?**

(16:18) _Oh hey! You're not dead!_

(16:20) **That remains to be seen.**

(16:21) **So, why the PMSing?**

(16:25) _You rudely disappeared after waking me up AT THE ARSECRACK OF DAWN so yes, I'm gonna friggin' PMS._

(16:29) **Hahaha jeez kid. You can't be THAT bored that I'm good company?**

(16:32) _So what if I am. What were you doing anyway that I didn't get all of your glorious attention, Oh, amazing one!_

(16:45) **I was helping a friend move in with her boyfriend, who happens to live just down the hall from me. They've been going out for years and she finally got a transfer here, so that's good. They used to live together further North so I'm happy for them.**

(16:50) _You have friends?_

(16:52) **Don't be a little shithead. Of course I have friends.**

(16:56) _Sorry couldn't resist. So now that she's moved-in does this mean you'll have more reasons to be sociable?_

(17:02) **Maybe. We'll see. I have been invited to there's for a take-away tonight. Issy insists we won't be up late, seeing as well have work in the morning.**

(17:03) _Issy is the girlfriend?_

(17:04) **Yes. Farlan is my friend. They've been dating forever.**

(17:06) _So where's your missus, then, Mr. Murderer?_

(17:07) **Ha! Not even subtle eh?**

(17:08) _Of course not._

(17:10) **Like I've said many times, I'm not a people person.**

(17:11) _So you're single?_

(17:13) **Yes, kid, I'm single.**

(17:16) _I guess that makes sense. We have been texting a lot. I guess if you were in a relationship, there'd have been a lot more silence on your end._

(17:19) **Well look at that. A braincell. I was starting to think I'd need to send out a search party.**

(17:22) _You're so SURE I'm just a dumb kid._

(17:23) **You've hardly proven me wrong.**

(17:26) _But …but come on!_

(17:46) **Whining. Yes. Way to prove me wrong.**

(17:47) _Well I'm glad I didn't hold my breath for you!_

(17:51) **Has anyone every told you, you have no boundaries?**

(17:52) _Yes._

(17:53) _More than once actually._

(17:54) _Hmm. Could it be me?_

(17:58) **Well that's something to think about.**

(18:01) **Well I'm off down the hall. Try to be productive and maybe finish your damn homework?**

(18:02) _Yeah right. Sure thing MUM!_

(18:03) _HAVE FUN!_

* * *

 **A/N: So this one was definitely a little bit longer. Lots of back and forth between these two cuties! What do we think on their banter? x**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites. It really means a lot to me that so many people enjoy my writing!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS ITALICS_

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **~0~**

 **Monday AM**

 **.**

 **.**

(11:34) _I've decided that when I become an evil dictator I will personally imprison all math's teachers and have them try and solve Hilbert's problems to enter general society to be eligible to eat, have a job (not teaching) and live a relatively normal life._

(11:39) _OR Taniyama's problems, since there's more. Either way, that shit it hardcore!_

(11:47) **Don't you have school?**

(11:49) _Don't you have work?_

(11:52) **I'm at work.**

(11:57) _I'm at school._

(11:59) _So what's your name?_

(12:00) **Sorry kid, lunchtime.**

(12:01) _Git_.

(13:04) _So what's your name?_

(13:07) **Not happening.**

(13:09) _Please? I literally have you in my phone right now as 'MY KILLER?'_

(13:13) **Sounds like a fairly good name to me.**

(13:18) _What am I in your phone?_

(13:19) _Oh GOD it's embarrassing isn't it?_

(13:24) **It's not that embarrassing. I'm curious to see what you think you're under, though.**

(13:29) _You're deflecting._

(13:34) **I'm busy. You know, work.**

(13:36) _Fine. Gender, then? Female? Male? Both? Neither? Breadstick?_

(13:38) **Breadstick?**

(13:42) **Why do you want to know anyway?**

(13:45) _Just trying to understand my potential murderer. The police would get a whole profile just by the way you kill me, so I think I deserve SOME sadistic back-story._

(13:46) **Couldn't I just lie then?**

(13:48) _Well, now you're just spoiling my fun._

(13:52) **Fine. I'm a man.**

(13:59) **So NOW you stop replying?**

(14:05) **Fine**.

.

.

 **Monday PM**

.

(16:09) _Sorry! Something came up!_

(17:30) **I'm sure.**

(17:31) _It did!_

(17:32) **Did you get your phone taken off you?**

(17:33) _Sort of._

(17:35) **How do you 'sort of' get your phone taken off you?**

(17:36) _It got taken out of my bag when I went to the bathroom. Had to hunt Jean down and ... well … shit happened._

(17:42) **Like?**

(17:46) _I got into a fight. Got dragged into the headteachers office. Got lectured. My dad was NOT happy when he came to pick me up._

(17:53) **Were you suspended?**

(17:56) _No._

(17:57) _He did read my texts to you out in the middle of class. It was like a trigger went off in my head._

(17:59) **Did you see red?**

(18:03) _I may have thrown a chair at his face. His stupid horse face._

(18:04) **Wait, Jean's a guy?**

(18:06) **Here I was thinking you were some equal rights fighter. Who the FUCK calls their son JEAN?**

(18:08) _It's pronounced 'John'. French or some shit._

(18:11) **Hey kid. Don't knock the French. Without them, you wouldn't have me.**

(18:15) _You're French?!_

(18:18) **Part-French. My mum came over from France when she was young.**

(18:23) _That's so cute! Do you have a little twiddly moustache too?_

(18:28) **Nope. Tried to grow one once and it looked like a paedo stash.**

(18:30) **Farlan and Hange pinned me down and shaved it off.**

(18:32) _That sounds amazing!_

(18:35) **Shut up brat! Can you even GROW facial hair?**

(18:39) _Well I sort of tried once but I just get a few whiskers._

(18:42) **How cute.**

(18:45) _Ew. For some reason you don't seem like the sort of person who says 'cute'._

(18:47) **I'm not. Forget that. It was a sick mistake.**

(18:51) _Awww are you embarrassed?_

(18:57) _BRB. Dinner!_

(18:59) **You really are a kid.**

(20:21) _What's wrong with BRB?_

(20:24) **It's so childish.**

(20:29) _Bloody hell, how old ARE you that text-talk bugs you?_

(20:34) _Are you even young enough to OWN a mobile?_

(20:42) **I'm going to pretend to not be offended.**

(20:44) **How old ARE you? I'm going through our messages and I'm thinking you're in College.**

(20:46) _Ha! Wrong! I'm in Uni._

(20:47) _How about you?_

(20:49) **I'm … Older.**

(20:53) _How much older?_

(20:59) _?_

(21:16) **Older.**

.

.

 **Tuesday AM**

.

(10:12) _So how much older are you?_

(10:15) **Guy or Girl?**

(10:17) _Guy. So how much older?_

(10:19) **Why do you care so much?**

(10:22) _Why are you so ashamed of your age?_

(10:25) **I'm not ashamed.**

(10:26) _So tell me :D_

(10:31) **Nope. Just for that emoticon, I am refusing to disclose personal information about myself.**

(10:33) _Wow. You're literally aging yourself as we speak._

(10:34) **Just because I appreciate the English language doesn't mean that I am old.**

(10:37) _It also doesn't mean you're young._

(10:40) **I'm older than you. That's all you need to know.**

(10:43) _OMG YOU'RE ACTUALLY AN OLD MAN AREN'T YOU?_

(10:46) _I UNWITTINGLY TEXT A PENT-UP OLD PERV!_

(11:05) **I'm so glad I ignored that. If I'd seen that instantly, I'd have chucked my phone at my students' heads.**

(11:09) _So … you're a teacher?_

(11:12) **Yes. I'm a teacher.**

(11:17) _I'm all nervous now. I feel like maybe I'm texting my math's tutor._

(11:20) **Wrong. I don't teach maths.**

(11:22) _So you're texting whilst in class?_

(11:26) **Yes. Apparently so. It's a quiz-day.**

(11:29) _Oh, you're one of THOSE teachers._

(11:32) **One of 'what' teachers?**

(11:34) _The one's that always give surprise quizzes._

(11:38) **So what? I'm allowed to extort my power over these simple-minded brats.**

(11:43) _You're evil._

(11:46) **You enjoy my evilness. Why else would you keep texting me?**

(11:55) _I … literally don't know how to respond to that._

(11:58) **I do. You're a masochist. You love pain and the excitement brought on by texting a potential OAP murderer.**

(12:02) _OMG NO! I nearly got a cramp from laughing so hard!_

(12:48) **You probably deserved that public humiliation.**

.

.

 **Tuesday PM**

.

(14:06) _I really REALLY hate you._

(14:09) **No you don't.**

(14:15) _Honestly, I do._

(14:17) **Quiet brat. I'm shaping young minds into obedient members of society.**

(14:46) _More like brainwashing them to be your manservants when the apocalypse occurs._

(14:56) **There's that too.**

.

.

(20:23) _Since you're a teacher, you can help me with all my homework! :D_

(20:34) **What did we discuss about emoticons?**

(20:36) _That they're … bad?_

(20:39) **Good boy.**

(20:41) **Besides, I am not about to let you cheat to get good grades.**

(20:45) _It's not cheating! It's helping!_

(20:47) **Do you or do you not have a test sometime tomorrow?**

(20:56) _… I might._

(21:02) **Then no. I will not help you.**

(21:04) _You're the worst. Why do I talk to you?_

(21:07) **I'm wondering the same thing.**

(23:09) _So really, how old are you?_

(23:16) **Go to sleep, brat.**

.

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

(13:02) _It feels weird that I haven't messaged you this morning._

(13:10) _My sister and friends keep asking who I'm talking to._

(13:15) _Oh shit. I just realised how that sounded_.

(13:19) _I'm sorry._

(14:28) _I mean, I'm not sorry. I like talking to you. God I'm really bad at this!_

(14:35) _Have I freaked you out?_

(14:56) _I guess you're busy. I'll leave you be._

.

.

(16:23) **Hey kid, sorry I forgot my phone at home and only just got back.**

(16:25) **To answer your earlier question, no, you didn't freak me out. I … actually enjoy talking to you too.**

(16:51) _Wow … that's a nice message to randomly look down and see. I honestly got a little freaked that I wouldn't get another message from you again. As creepy as that might seem to some people._

(16:55) **In what way?**

(16:58) _I have you saved in my phone as 'GRUMPY TEACHER'._

(17:03) **Actually, a rather good description of me.**

(17:05) _So what am I saved as on your phone?_

(17:08) **You so set that up. Fine. You're saved as 'SHITTY BRAT'.**

(17:11) _WHAT?! THAT'S SO RUDE!_

(17:23) **I'm sorry, did you expect something endearing?**

(17:26) _Well, clearly I was wrong to assume._

(17:29) **Everyone is wrong to assume anything at any given time.**

(17:31) **Besides, from me, 'shitty' is basically endearment in my dictionary.**

(17:35) _Awww, look at you getting all soft on me._

(17:37) _Where's my mean, evil, murdering old man, eh?_

(17:45) **Washing the blood off my kitchen floors.**

(17:52) _I thought you said you were like DEXTER and were clean as fuck?_

(17:54) **I am. That's why I'm cleaning the blood off my floor. Twerp.**

(18:04) _Okay how did that make me smile?_

(18:09) **Cause you're weird?**

(18:16) _Oh yeah!_

(18:23) **Shitty brat.**

(18:28) _Grumpy teacher :P_

 _._

 _._

 **Friday AM**

.

(9:03) _So how many 'friends' do you have in this little group of yours? I need to know what I'm up against._

(9:06) **Are you serious? I am literally just starting my lesson.**

(9:08) _You're also texting me :P_

(9:19) **You're annoying. Now shut up and pay attention to your OWN teacher.**

(9:24) _I am ;)_

(9:34) **Fuck off with your emoticons!**

(9:41) _Oh shit. I just had a horrible thought. What if you ARE one of my teachers?_

(9:53) **Is that bad?**

(9:59) _YES! All my teachers are awful!_

(10:12) **Okay so what lesson are you in now?**

(10:17) _History._

(10:23) **Okay, describe your teacher to me.**

(10:31) _Short, dark hair, pot-belly, and rubbery looking ears and nose._

(10:34) **Haha. I can confirm that it is not me.**

(10:38) _I can't lie. I'm so relieved right now!_

(10:42) _I'd have needed therapy if you were Mr. Stevens._

(10:46) _So … History huh?_

(10:59) **Yes.**

(11:24) _Do you enjoy it?_

(11:27) **I do. Wasn't my initial plan but I've been doing it for a while now.**

(11:30) _What was your plan? Originally, I mean._

(11:33) **I didn't really have much of an option.**

(11:38) _What do you mean? Did your parents push you into a career? That sucks._

(11:47) **Nope. They pushed me into joining the army after my 'stunts' in school. I got discharged after I took three bullets in my chest, back and leg. Then, after extensive therapy, I went into teaching.**

(11:58) _Oh my God … I am so sorry._

(12:03) **It's fine. It was a long time ago.**

(12:06) _No, seriously. I talk without thinking. I shouldn't have pushed, I'm sorry!_

(12:09) **Kid, I told you, it's fine.**

(12:15) _Okay. If you're sure._

(12:34) _So, I've been doing some thinking._

(12:39) **I thought I heard of a national disaster somewhere.**

(12:43) _Wow. I was trying to be heartfelt. Don't think I'll bother now._

(12:57) **Kid, I'm joking. What were you going to say?**

(13:09) _I was going to … trade some personal information._

(13:13) _Tit for tat, and all that._

(13:17) **Okay.**

(13:21) _My name … is Eren._

(13:27) _Nicer than 'brat' or 'kid' huh?_

(13:33) **I quite like the ring of 'brat' or 'kid'. It makes me feel powerful.**

(13:45) _You're a teacher. How much more power do you want?_

(13:48) **All of it.**

(13:59) _Are you seriously going to leave me hanging?_

(14:11) **Depends over what? A vat of acid? Sharks? Volcano?**

(14:34) _…?_

(14:38) **Fine. If you like, you can change my contact name to 'Levi'.**

(14:41) _Is that pronounced 'Leev-eye' or 'Leh-vee'._

(14:53) **I'm sort of wishing you were in my class just so I could throw my phone at your head!**

(14:57) _I need to know how to sound your name._

(14:59) **Why?**

(15:06) _In case I want to divulge your identity to my nosey friends._

(15:08) **Eren.**

(15:11) _I've never seen my name look so intimidating over text. I've given you too much power!_

(15:15) **Eren.**

(15:18) … _Yes?_

(15:23) **I like your name too.**

* * *

 **A/N: There we are! Levi gave a sort-of-compliment. Ish. Very Levi though ;)**

 **How doth we like the story so far my beautiful readers?**

 **B x**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites. Since it's my birthday I am treating you lovelies to a new chapter!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS ITALICS_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

~0~

Levi did his best to stop looking down at his phone whenever he urged his students to 'read a passage' from their open textbooks. He had been telling himself to be good and to set a proper example for his students. There was no real rhyme or reason as to why it felt so easy to talk to Eren the way they had been over the last few weeks. Even if what they spoke about was completely random, it helped Levi feel as though he had more of a purpose. There was no real reason for having a phone if no one talked to him.

 **[1 NEW MESSAGE]**

Well … Almost no one. He felt a little flushed as he slyly swiped his phone screen and opened the message. He had to suppress a groan. It wasn't from Eren. It was Hange.

~0~

 **Wednesday AM**

.

.

(11:34) Hello kind stranger, have you perchance seen my friend Levi anywhere?

(11:37) **The Hell do you want Shitty Glasses?**

(11:41) LEEEVI! YOU'RE ALIVE!

(11:45) **What do you want? You realise I'm teaching right now?**

(11:47) Not well, if you have time to text.

(11:53) **What do you want four-eyes?**

(11:56) A little birdy tells me you've BEEN TEXTING SOMEONE!

(11:59) **Looks like my sling-shot needs to come out of retirement.**

(12:04) Sooo? Who is it?

(12:06) **Your coroner.**

(12:11) D: RUDE! Leeeeevi who have you been texting?! You only have like 4 contacts!

(12:15) **Can there be SOME mystery left between us?**

(12:17) Nope. You're stuck with me!

(12:23) **Urgh. Fine. Remember that wrong number that text me?**

(12:28) The kid whining about homework and plotting murder? 

(12:32) WAIT, REALLY?! You're STILL texting?!

(12:36) **Yes.**

(12:39) WHYYYY? Tell me everything!

(12:43) **Hange just leave it. It's just texting.**

(12:47) Nothing is ever 'just' anything with you.

(12:51) **Hange leave it alone.**

(12:54) **Why do you even care?**

(12:59) **Thought you'd be happy I was making friends?**

(13:04) Didn't mummy and daddy teach you not to talk to strangers?

(13:09) **Nope. Mummy and Daddy sent Levi to the army where he got shot three times.**

(13:14) By strangers. That's my point.

(13:17) **I really doubt this kid is going to shoot me.**

(13:21) How do you know?

(13:25) **True. I could be wrong.**

(13:28) **Like I was when I let you be my friend.**

(13:36) You wound me deeply Levi! What did I ever to do you that you wouldn't trust me with your sordid little secrets?

(13:40) **You ran into me on your bike.**

(13:42) **You let your dog hump me every time I come over.**

(13:45) **You broke my hand several times for your 'research'.**

(13:47) **Need I go on?**

(13:56) Fine. Grumpy git! I demand all the information as soon as I see you next!

(13:59) **Friday night at Issy and Farlan's?**

(14:00) It's a date!

.

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

(17:01) **So I may have told my friend about you?**

(17:05) _You have other friends? LEVI I thought it was just you and me forever!_

(17:07) _Which friend?_

(17:09) **I mentioned my friend Hange before?**

(17:12) _The human epitome of a rash? Yes you did._

(17:18) _So what did you say about me? How I'm devilishly handsome? How you love the sound of my voice? How you adore my wit and charm?_

(17:23) **Literally none of those things.**

(17:27) **Calm your jets, shitty brat. I literally know your name, age and gender. That's basically fuck all!**

(17:30) **I know the same exact things about The Rock, you don't see me texting him.**

(17:34) _To be fair … I don't know what you do in your spare time._

(17:36) **You never asked.**

(17:39) _Okay LEVI, what do you do in your spare time?_

(17:45) **I read, watch documentaries, jog, drink wine and … that's about it.**

(17:47) **How about you?**

(17:52) _I train a little at the gym, go to karate with my sister, and hang out with my friends at the local parks / cafes._

(17:57) _And really shitting myself about learning to drive._

(17:42) **Think of it this way; it works the same way as school tests. You need to ace their questions and do as they say, then as soon as you get your license BANG! No longer needed.**

(17:48) _Has anyone every told you you're really bad at giving advice?_

(17:51) **Why do you think I can't be a guidance counsellor?**

(18:00) _OMFG I JUST SNORTED SPRITE UP MY NOSE YOU DICK! HAHA_

(18:04) **Sprite? Good grief.**

(18:06) _Don't hate on Sprite!_

(18:10) **Hating.**

.

.

.

(22:35) _Hey Levi? Are you still awake?_

(22:38) **Just about. Reading in bed. Why, what's up kid?**

(22:42) _As childish as it will make me seem … my sister is fighting with her boyfriend downstairs and I can't distract myself._

(22:46) **Where are your parents?**

(22:48) _Out._

(22:51) **Can't you intervene?**

(22:56) _I already did. Hence the radio silence. I landed against the cooker and burned my arm._

(22:59) **Fucking hell, Eren, are you okay? Why don't you call the police for your sister?**

(23:04) _She's a black belt. She's pretty lethal. As much as I want to help her, she's pretty much got it covered._

(23:09) **That sounds very immature.**

(23:15) _Mika can handle herself. Honestly. I just wish I was a better brother._

(23:18) **Eren you already tried to help. Other than calling the police you can't do much more?**

(23:24) _Do you really think I should? I don't want to make her mad._

(23:28) **This might be one of those things you regret if you don't.**

(23:31) _Okay. Hold on._

(23:54) _Mika's giving a statement to the police. Reiner's going to be staying overnight in a cell. We've been assured that a restraining order will be placed against him._

(00:14) **Sorry I fell asleep. I'm glad the result was positive. Are you awake?**

(00:19) _Can't seem to sleep. Just replaying the evening in my head. Wondering if it even happened._

(00:22) _Mum and Dad had mixed feelings, but ultimately glad of how things turned out._

(00:26) **They probably foresaw some kind of fallout.**

(00:28) _You think?_

(00:31) **Positive. Parents are fairly intuitive.**

(00:35) _Are you one? A parent, I mean?_

(00:39) **No, I don't have any children.**

(00:42) _How come?_

(00:45) _Didn't find the right girl?_

(00:48) **Wouldn't make any real different even if I did.**

(00:51) _Hmm? How so?_

(00:53) **Another time, kid. We both have school in the morning. We need to sleep.**

(00:56) _Hmm okay._

(00:57) _Hey Levi?_

(00:59) **Yes, Eren?**

(1:01) _Thank you … for distracting me._

(1:04) **You're welcome.**

.

.

 **Thursday AM**

.

(8:55) _So, you never did tell me what you and your friend said about me?_

(8:59) **It's like you're begging for attention.**

(9:03) _What? I want to know. As far as Armin and Mika are concerned I have a secret lover._

(9:09) **Oh my. I'm blushing.**

(9:14) _I can HEAR the sarcasm._

(9:17) **Good boy. You're learning.**

(9:22) _I may or may not be staying home from school._

(9:25) **Why?**

(9:28) _My severaly blistered arm?_

(9:33) **Shit, sorry.**

(9:37) _Dad's taking me into the hospital he works at to get it seen to. After that, I get to stay off school._

(9:41) **For how long?**

(9:45) _Technically Monday, but I want to try and milk it a little._

(9:49) **I AM a bad influence.**

(9:52) _Yes you are ;)_

(9:58) _Buuut it's also why I like you._

(10:02) **So when will you get to the hospital?**

(10:06) _On the way now. When I come out, I'll be requiring tons of attention, random facts, and maybe even a joke._

(10:10) **I'm sure I can deliver.**

(10:28) _LEEEEEVI! IT HURTS! DOCTORS ARE MEAN!_

(10:31) **Well you lasted long under torture. So glad I didn't bet money on you.**

(10:33) _Aw, aren't you sweet?_

(10:37) **Hardly. I bet against you. Hange owes me a drink.**

(10:41) _WHAAAT?!_

(10:47) **Kidding, brat. Kidding.**

(10:55) _Git._

(10:57) _Uh oh. More tests! Levi SAVE ME!_

(10:59) **God speed, Eren.**

.

.

 **Thursday PM**

.

(12:04) _You're heartless._

(12:07) **You're alive.**

(12:09) _No thanks to you._

(12:13) **I'm sensing a little hostility here.**

(12:17) _Oh good, it's coming through then._

(12:25) **Would the big baby like a distraction?**

(12:31) _Yes please!_

(12:36) **Okay. And since you're injured, I'll let you choose the topic.**

(12:41) _Oh, you should never give me that power._

(12:43) _Okay let me think …_

(12:46) _How about … your first kiss?_

(12:49) **Wow. Really? Okay fine.**

(12:50) **But no laughing.**

(12:56) _I'm literally wriggling on the gurney in anticipation._

(13:03) **Okay to set the scene. It was the awkward teenage party. All the guys were just tickling puberty and the girls were starting to grow out of their braces and into their new wired bras. We decided that playing truth or dare was a good idea.**

(13:08) _Of course!_

(13:11) **I got dared to kiss a girl. Rosie was her name. She was sweet, had freckles and big frizzy hair.**

(13:14) _Not your type?_

(13:28) **Not even close.**

(13:36) **So she leaned in and I resigned to myself to my fate and crossed the circle. She tasted like chocolate ice cream and jellybeans. It was weird and sickly and just felt like smooshing my mouth against a a bottle.**

(13:40) **When I pulled away, I had the biggest grimace on my face, apparently. Everyone was snickering. I just remember screwing up my face and saying, 'Fuck me, that's nasty!'**

(13:44) **She went bright red. We didn't talk after that.**

(14:00) _OMG LEVI I NEARLY PISSED MYSELF! HAHA THAT'S THE WORST FIRST KISS STORY EVER!_

(14:05) **I'm so glad my childhood trauma has tickled your fancy.**

(14:09) _Oh God I'm crying!_

(14:12) _So … I feel as though I should trade something personal._

(14:24) **Please. Indulge me.**

(14:37) _Okay, my first time drinking alcohol. I drank way too much, way too fast. Kissed about four different girls for some insane reason, and danced topless on the dining room table before going out into the street and having a very intense debate with some tall guy._

(14:41) _Or who I THOUGHT was a tall guy._

(14:45) _It was a pole. For twenty minutes I argued with a FUCKING POLE!_

(14:49) _Suffice to say it was recorded and went viral._

(14:53) _Levi?_

(14:59) _Dude?_

.

.

(15:28) **I'm sorry, my phone died and I had to leave it in my office to charge. Thankfully, your last message came through just before so I had a good excuse for laughing so hard I fell out of my chair.**

(15:31) _You fell out of your chair?_

(15:36) **More like, leaning back and lost my balance.**

(15:40) _STILL COUNTS! Levi you know what this means don't you?_

(15:43) **Don't.**

(15:47) _I'm gonna._

(15:49) **Eren.**

(15:52) _LEVI YOU'RE FALLING FOR ME!_

(15:58) **Need I remind you, I was in the army. I know how to shoot.**

(16:01) _Gotta find me first ;)_

.

.

(19:05) Are you texting him right now?

(19:09) **Go away.**

(19:14) Levi! You can't lock yourself away in your flat with only a phone for company! It's unhealthy.

(19:17) **Your company is unhealthy.**

(19:20) So … is that a yes?

(19:25) **Damnit four-eyes! Yes, okay. Yes! I'm texting him.**

(19:29) Why don't you ever just go out and meet actual people?

(19:34) **This is better. For all I know, this kid could be hundreds of miles away.**

(19:40) Doesn't that bum you out though?

(19:43) **Hange, he's a kid. His biggest fear right now is passing a driving test, okay? Besides … I don't think I'm his type.**

(19:48) Have you asked him?

(19:51) **Of course not. He's younger than me.**

(19:57) So what? Mike's younger than me and we're married!

(20:00) **He's like a year and a bit younger than you.**

(20:03) Ask him. Never hurts to ask!

(20:06) **Have I told you to go away yet?**

(20:09) Only once tonight. You're getting old ;)

(20:11) **Go and do that, please?**

(20:16) Please? Are you ill?

(20:19) **Fuck off shitty glasses!**

(20:24) Love yah too!

.

.

(21:43) **How's the arm?**

(21:47) _Slathered in cream and bandaged up. Very awkward to shower with a plastic bag wrapped around your arm._

(21:51) **You poor thing. You may have to resort to baths for a few weeks.**

(21:54) _Urgh I hate baths._

(22:00) **At least you get a little more time off school. Think of the positivies.**

(22:03) _Look at you always thinking of the bigger picture!_

(22:07) _So … I've been meaning to tell you something but … I don't really know how you'll react._

(22:11) **Okay. What's on your mind?**

(22:17) _Okay well … before I tell you, can you maybe promise that if it bothers you, you'll just leave and stop texting? As much as that would kill me … I couldn't deal with the alternative._

(22:20) **I'm not entirely sure I know what you mean.**

(22:24) _Like, if I suddenly repulse you, you won't start verbally harassing me._

(22:30) **I'm not that sort of person, Eren. However if it sets your mind at ease, no I will not harass you.**

(22:44) _Okay …_

(22:46) _Remember when I said that I 'kissed some girls for some reason'?_

(22:49) _Well … it wasn't because I was drunk. I mean it was, but that's the reason it confused me._

(22:56) **Eren, you're rambling.**

(22:59) _Right, okay. Sure._

(23:03) _I'm gay._

(23:09) _Levi?_

(23:13) **Oh thank God! I thought you were about to tell me you were lying about who you were all this time!**

(23:16) _What? So .. you don't care that I'm gay?_

(23:20) **Of course not.**

(23:24) _How can you be so 'okay' with this?! Everyone I know had at least a really big reaction, good and bad!_

(23:29) **Eren, I'm older than you. I've had to deal with all this bullshit myself.**

(23:34) _Does that mean …? Levi, are you gay?_

(23:39) **Yes, I am.**

(23:43) _Why didn't you mention something earlier?_

(23:49 **) It's not one of the first things I tell people.**

(23:53) **Besides, I've enjoyed talking to someone without any prejudices and politics involved.**

(23:57) _I've liked talking to you too._

(23:59) **I'm glad.**

(00:38) _G'night Levi._

(00:40) **Goodnight Eren.**

* * *

 **A/N: See? I'M NICE! Hope you guys enjoyed the read!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains MILD HARRY POTTER SPOILERS!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS ITALICS_

 **Chapter 4**

.

.

 **Friday PM**

.

(13:09) _So are you still going over to Issy and Farlan's tonight?_

(13:11) **You remember that? I'm impressed.**

(13:14) **And yes I am.**

(13:18) _Are they going to ask you about me?_

(13:22) **Oh yes, definitely. Hange's already harassed me about it.**

(13:26) **She's even coming along tonight to pry information from me.**

(13:29) _They might be devious! They'll get you juiced up with alcohol!_

(13:36) **You have no idea how accurate you are.**

(13:40) _Paint me a word-picture of your friends._

(13:45) **Why?**

(13:50) _I want to be able to imagine it._

(13:53) **You don't even know how I look, let alone my moron friends.**

(13:58) _Okay don't tell me how they look, just describe them as a person._

(14:05) **Issy is about 5'3" and mean with it. She's feisty and was sent from the devil to out-drink me.**

(14:08) **Farlan is about 6'4" and is Issy's calm counterpart. He's a great cook and love's singing along to old movies.**

(14:13) **As for Hange … I already compared her to a rash.**

(14:18) **She's eccentric. A total geek. Pretty sure she forgets to breathe when she gets excited about something medically strange.**

(14:22) _Wow. So … you might really be the sane one out of the group?_

(14:27) **Now tell me about your friends.**

(14:37) _Okay well Mika is one of my best friends. She's 5'5" and athletic. Calm and deadly._

(14:42) _Armin is shorter. He's 5'3" and has bright blonde hair. He's quiet and academic. A mini-genius._

(14:47) **What about that Jean kid who took your phone?**

(14:50) _Horse-face, and yeah I guess he's more like …a rash? :P_

(14:53) **I understand completely.**

(14:56) _I sort of love that you do._

(15:00) **If it makes you feel any better most of my friends tower over me.**

(15:03) _Wait … Even Issy?_

(15:06) **No?**

(15:09) _OMFG RKGMFDLM_

(15:15) **What the fuck was that?**

(15:19) **Eren?**

(15:37) **Oi shitty brat I'm talking to you!**

(15:47) _Sorry, sorry, sorry!_

(15:56) **Where did you go?**

(16:04) _Okay I'll tell you but you have to promise not to laugh._

(16:05) **No.**

(16:08) _… Fine. I may have gotten a little bit of a nosebleed and needed to deal with it._

(16:12) **Over what?**

(16:15) **Wait**

(16:20) **Eren, did you get a nosebleed because you have a thing for short guys?**

(16:23) _… No?_

(16:32) **I'm sorry haha I may have laughed. There's something deeply wrong with you.**

(16:36) _Don't make fun of me!_

(16:40) **Oh hush I'm sure my friends could tell you some embarrassing things about me.**

(16:43) _So … you'd want me to meet your friends?_

(16:50) **Well … maybe. Eventually.**

(16:54) _I think I'd like that._

(16:58) **I think I'd like that too.**

(19:03) **So they started their interrogation as soon as I walked in the door.**

(19:08) _I feel like your friends would have your phone if they knew you were texting me. Where are you?_

(19:11) **In the bathroom.**

(19:13) _You went into the bathroom specifically to text me? Aw :3_

(19:15) **God, please, no emoticons.**

(19:18) **Shit they're knocking on the door. Send help!**

(19:21) _God speed, Levi ;)_

(23:10) **EREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!**

(23:16) _I was sleeping._

(23:19) **EREN! HI!**

(23:22) **Hange wants to know if ur seeing some1**

(23:30) _You're drunk, Levi._

(23:35) **R u?**

(23:39) _Haha no I'm not seeing anyone._

(23:43) **That's good :D ure good**

(23:49) **Youre so nice 2 me lik a cupcake**

(23:53) _Lick a cupcake?_

(23:57) **THAS UR NEW NAME!**

(00:01) **gkgodkfmbks**

(00:06) **Hi is this Eren?**

(00:09) _Um yes?_

(00:15) **Haha sorry, Levi's only got you saved under CUPCAMPF. It's Issy. Has he … mentioned me?**

(00:18) _The devil drinker? No, not at all._

(00:20) **Ha!**

(00:20) _How drunk is he? Is he alright?_

(00:23) **He's fine but I've conviscated his phone.**

(00:27) _Ah, good._

(00:29) **Get some sleep, hun ;)**

(00:31) _Thanks Issy :)_

 _._

 _._

 **Saturday AM**

.

(6:01) _GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING NORTHERN HEMISPHERE!_

(6:04) _IT'S THE AMAZING EREN COMING TO YOU LIVE TO TELL YOU_

(6:07) _OF THIS AWESOME SATURDAY MORNING!_

(6:09) _IS IT TO LOUD TO BE THIS EARLY?!_

(6:11) _WHO CARES IT'S FRIGGIN' SATURDAY!_

(6:18) **Why?**

(6:22) _LEVI!_

(6:23) _HI!_

(6:24) _YOU'RE AWAKE!_

(6:28) **Of course I'm awake you shit-eating little brat! You sent me so many messages my phone vibrated off the table and onto my face!**

(6:32) _That's called REVENGE, Levi, cupcake._

(6:35) **The fuck are you talking about?**

(6:38) _Scroll up._

(6:42) **Oh no.**

(6:46) _OH YES!_

(6:52) **I'm dying.**

(6:55) _You saved me as some drunk variation of 'cupcake'!_

(6:58) _Does Levi think of me as sweet and cute? :P_

(7:03) **Please leave flowers at my grave. I'm gonna hop out this window.**

(7:07) _Haha okay I think I've made you suffer enough for now._

(7:11) **My head is pummelling me.**

(7:14) _Take water and some painkillers and then sleep for a few more hours._

(7:17) **Okay. Gotta find my bathroom first. I think I drank it.**

(7:21) _You're amusing when you're in pain._

(7:24) **Sadist.**

(7:26) _You love it._

(7:45) **Okay. Found the bathroom. Downed a pint of water. Took tablets. Made some tea for bed.**

(7:49) _I wondered why it took you so long._

(7:55) _Try and rest now._

(7:59) **I'll let you know if I'm still alive after this.**

(8:03) _And … if you're not?_

(8:06) **Kill Hange.**

(8:09) _What did Hange do?!_

(8:12) **I don't know. That's my go-to tactic. It's always –somehow –her fault.**

(8:15) _Sleep tight Levi._

(8:18) **We'll see.**

.

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

(14:02) **I'm alive.**

(14:09) _Are you just waking up?_

(14:15) **I might be. Some little shit-stain woke me up this morning.**

(14:17) _That's not very nice._

(14:21) **My mouth feels like cotton wool.**

(14:24) _Oh poor little Levi._

(14:31) **Be kind? I'm pretty sure I'm just haunting my phone right now.**

(14:39) _Aw Okay I'll be kind :)_

(14:42) _So what are you up to right now?_

(14:50) **Reading.**

(14:53) _Wotcha reading?_

(14:57) **Othello.**

(15:00) _FOR FUN?!_

(15:03) **It's good.**

(15:07) _I'll take your word for it._

(15:10) _Have you ever read Harry Potter?_

(15:13) **Nope.**

(15:30) … _I'm sorry I just had a brain haemorrhage._

(15:34) **Stupid brat.**

(15:38) _LEVI PUT OTHELLO DOWN!_

(15:42) _YOU NEED TO READ HARRY POTTER IMMEDIATELY!_

(15:46) **I'd rather not, thanks.**

(15:51) _Levi. If you don't put that book down and go and get Harry Potter RIGHT NOW I will silent-treatment your arse._

(15:53) **Oh no. Whatever shall I do without a petulant baby badgering me all day?**

(15:58) _Okay I know you're hungover so I'll let that one slide. For now._

(16:00) _Anyway back to the topic at hand_

(16:02) _GO OUT AND GET HARRY POTTER NOW!_

(16:05) **Even if I wanted to read Harry Potter –which I don't.**

(16:09) **WHERE am I supposed to go and get these books when the nearest bookstore is a 45minute walk away and shops shut at 5PM?**

(16:16) _Just go and borrow it. Go to your neighbors, go to Issy's, hell, ask Hange! Literally EVERYONE owns a copy!_

(16:20) **Then why don't I have one?**

(16:23) _I guess you're an alien._

(16:25) **Urgh. Fine.**

(16:28) **I'll ask Issy.**

(17:15) **Issy and Farlan laughed at me for ten minutes before handing me their stack.**

(17:18) _Show me!_

(17:19) _Oh that's one of the new cover designs! It looks pretty nice!_

(17:21) **You don't have these ones?**

(17:24) _No I have the original art covers._

(17:27) _The original even has a young Dumbledore on the back._

(17:31) **Prove it.**

(17:34) _Ahh, I'll need to dig it out. Sort of hard with a bad arm._

(17:38) **Brat.**

(17:45) _Okay! I'll leave you to read! I'll see you in a week when you crawl out of your man-cave after binging the series!_

(17:51) **I can assure you that won't happen.**

(17:53) _I bet it will!_

(17:55) **We'll see.**

(19:34) **Why didn't I read this?**

(19:38) _Ha! And you thought Othello was good._

(19:41) **Shut up I'm reading. Go away.**

.

.

 **Sunday AM**

.

(00:05) **Okay so I finished the first book.**

(00:09) **I'm not fully aware of how sordid and miserable my childhood was having been deprived of MAGIC!**

(00:13) _Heh even though you woke me up … you're kindda cute._

(00:16) **Should I start the second one or sleep?**

(00:19) **Fuck it. Who needs sleep?!**

(4:01) **I hope this wakes you up you little shit. You did this to me! I have literally seen day turn into night and night turn into day BECAUSE OF YOU!**

(4:07) **Wish I could spoil this for you … Git.**

(11:50) _Are you still mad at me?_

(11:55) **Yes. My eyeballs have papercuts right now because I fell asleep reading.**

(11:59) _What time did you nod off in the end?_

(12:03) **Last I checked … it was 5:23.**

(12:06) _Oh you poor man!_

(12:07) _I'd say I felt bad … but I don't._

(12:10) _This needed to be done._

(12:15) **I may have started the third one just now.**

(12:17) _Oh that's a good one!_

(12:21) **Yeah?**

(12:24) _Honestly, you'll love it. You can't doubt me at this point._

(12:32) **No I supposed I can't. You haven't been wrong yet.**

(12:33) **Yet.**

(12:38) **Oh God I just realised! I should be pacing these out! I'm almost halfway through!**

(12:45) _Haha you'll be taking them to school with you on Monday. Hiding it behind your textbook._

(12:47) _Probably read it while they do essay questions._

(12:50) **You know … that's not a bad idea.**

(12:56) _… Oh God what have I DONE?! I've created a monster!_

(13:01) _You'll be buying robes off Amazon and going to conventions next._

(13:06) **Wait … they have conventions for this?!**

(13:08) **How did I NOT KNOW THIS?**

(13:15) _I should not have said that …_

.

.

 **Sunday PM**

.

(22:10) **I feel like I'm crashing so hard … but this is so good … can't keep eyes open …**

(22:15) _Yet he can still text me with almost perfect English._

(22:20) **Shut up this is all your fault. Dumb brat.**

(22:24) _You're welcome, Levi ;)_

* * *

 **A/N: See? I'M NICE! Hope you guys enjoyed the read!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains MILD HARRY POTTER SPOILERS!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 **Chapter 5**

.

.

 **Monday AM**

.

(9:00) So how did you survive the weekend after drunk-texting your lover-boy?

(9:03) **That reminds me, I need to kill you now.**

(9:06) Eh?! What did I do?

(9:13) **Thanks to you, Eren had a panic attack thinking I'd judge him for being gay! Then he got me addicted to Harry Bloody Potter so I've barely slept since crashing on Friday.**

(9:18) Eren, eh? Cute name ;)

(9:21) **You're … impossible.**

(9:23) I can't be impossible. I exist!

(9:25) **For now.**

(9:30) So what else do you know about him? Is he single?

(9:31) **Yes.**

(9:34) You should meet up. Ask him out!

(9:40) **Hange just drop it.**

(9:43) You can't stay single all your life Levi! You have his number! Call him up and ask him out!

(9:48) **I'm teaching and he's resting from the accident. Just … leave it.**

(9:53) Call him tonight.

(9:56) **If I say 'yes' will you leave me alone?**

(9:58) Only if you mean it!

(10:02) **Fine, yes. I'll call him.**

(10:06) Good boy.

(10:10) **You're going to call Issy and Farlan and tell them to spy on me, aren't you?**

(10:15) Well it takes all the fun out of it if you can guess what I'm gonna do!

(10:18) **That just means you're predictable.**

(10:20) So rude!

(10:25) **Hange, stop harassing me and get back to your job.**

(10:27) Fine. But I'm texting Farlan and Issy right NOW!

(10:30) **Whatever.**

.

.

 **Monday PM**

.

(12:05) _Mika just told me she's going on an exchange program. She'll be gone for six months._

(12:08) **Isn't that a good thing? She'll be back for the summer holidays.**

(12:14) _I just … I guess having some space from this Reiner crap is good but …_

(12:17) **You'll get lonely.**

(12:24) _You must think I'm pathetic._

(12:27) **No, I don't.**

(12:31) _What if I told you I was holed up in the men's room cubicle texting you this because I got so angry I yelled at her and stormed off?_

(12:38) **… I feel as though my hands are tied.**

(12:42) **Would you like something to look forward to later on?**

(12:46) _Um … sure? What did you have in mind?_

(12:50) **You'll see. Just let me know when you're free.**

(12:52) _O-Okay._

(12:55) **Gotta run, kid. Teaching Year 8's now.**

(12:58) _Fun times. Don't terrorise them!_

(13:01) **Stop spoiling my fun.**

.

.

.

.

(21:55) _Hey … is it too late for that 'surprise'?_

(21:58) **Give me 2 secs, I'm just leaving Farlan's.**

(21:59) _Ok._

(22:03) _I thought Friday night was take-away night?_

(22:06) **It is but this was to plan Issy's birthday.**

(22:08) _Oh right._

(22:16) **Okay I'm in and settled. Ready?**

(22:18) _I guess so._

.

.

 ** _[CALLING EREN]_**

 **"Hello?"**

 _"Um … hi."_

 **"… I didn't think this far."**

 _"Heh … I think I've forgotten how to use words."_

 **"You and me both."**

 _"You don't sound how I imagined."_

 **"Is … that bad?"**

 _"No! No I just –I meant that I didn't expect your voice to sound so … deep."_

 **"Do I want to know why you thought I'd sound as though I hadn't hit puberty?"**

 _"No, I mean –shit!"_

 **"Relax, Eren, I'm teasing you."**

 _"Mmmm."_

 **"What was that?"**

 _"Um … nothing."_

 **"You know I didn't expect an accent."**

 _"Well it doesn't tend to come through via texts."_

 **"So where's it from?"**

 _"Germany. My family are from Germany."_

 **"Were you born there or here?"**

 _"Here. Grandparents live in Germany though. We travel back there whenever we get a chance to."_

 **"That's pretty cool. I've never been."**

 _"You should go. It's … really nice there."_

 **"So you speak German?"**

 _"Yeah pretty well actually."_

 **"That's amazing for someone your age. A lot of people drop the whole second-languages thing as soon as they pass GCSE's."**

 _"I literally couldn't, even if I wanted to. I wouldn't, though. I like being able to speak to my grandparents in German."_

 **"That's rather sweet."**

 _"Family's important to me."_

 **"I'd say the same for myself, but my friends are the only family I have left anymore."**

 _"Oh … um … Levi I'm sorry."_

 **"It's fine. It was a long time ago."**

 _"You keep saying that."_

 **"It's because it's true."**

 _"Levi … How old are you?"_

 **"… Well when you ask like that it makes me feel like I'm doing something bad."**

 _"Are you?"_

 **"Not as far as I'm aware."**

 _"Then why won't you tell me?"_

 **"Well –it's difficult. You remember when you said you didn't want to tell me you were gay because of how you thought I'd judge you and treat you differently or abuse you?"**

 _"Yeees."_

 **"I'm keenly aware there's an age-gap between us. I just don't want it to freak you out."**

 _"How do you know how I'd feel about it if you don't tell me?"_

 **"Damn. Why can't all my students be like you?"**

 _"I'm one of a kind."_

 **"Hmmm. Okay, I just … don't want to pile things onto you –"**

 _"Levi. Just tell me … How old are you?"_

 **" … Thirty-four."**

 _"…"_

 **"Eren?"**

 _"Are you kidding me?"_

 **"Eren –"**

 _"THAT'S what you were freaking out about?"_

 **"… So, it doesn't bother you?"**

 _"Haha no. Oh, God you really had me worried there! I thought you were going to tell me you were in your sixties or something!"_

 **"Not quite."**

 _"Oh my God … I won't lie, I am so relieved."_

 **"Relieved?"**

 _"I had mini panic-attacks whenever Armin or Mika grilled me about you. Wanting to know who you were, where you lived, if Levi was even your real name. Your age, your job, all that rubbish."_

 **"Sorry to disappoint them. Average guy, average job."**

 _"Levi … you're anything but average."_

 **"Kid, you've only just heard my voice."**

 _"And it's amazing! If any of my teachers had a voice like yours, I'd never want to leave their class!"_

 **"Careful Eren. You may just pay me a compliment."**

 _"Heh yeah I should watch myself, eh?"_

 **"Hmm. So what're you doing right now?"**

 _"I'm just lying on my bed staring up at the sky."_

 **"Through … the ceiling?"**

 _"Haha no. I have a skylight above my bed. I can see the stars on a clear night."_

 **"That's rather endearing."**

 _"Oh! Hey Levi?"_

 **"Yes, Eren?"**

 _"Make a wish."_

 **"What?"**

 _"I just saw a shooting star. I'm giving you my wish so make one!"_

 **"Wishes aren't transferrable, kid."**

 _"Just make a wish!"_

 **"…"**

 _"Did you make one?"_

 **"Yes."**

 _"What did you wish for?"_

 **"I'll let you know if it comes true."**

 _"Okay good."_

 **"…"**

 _"Hey Levi?"_

 **"Yes, brat?"**

 _"I … I really like hearing your voice."_

 **"I like hearing yours too. Accent and all. Somehow, it really suits you."**

 _"Heh I'm glad. Would it … erm … would it be okay if I called you, again, sometime?"_

 **"I look forward to it."**

 _"Thanks. I … er … think I should head to bed. I can hear my parents hovering about."_

 **"I'll let you rest. Sleep tight kid."**

 _"Goodnight Levi."_

 ** _[CALL DISCONNECTED. DURATION: 2 hours, 34 minutes and 29 seconds.]_**

.

.

.

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

(16:00) _Are you home from work yet?_

(16:02) **Just walking in the door. You okay?**

(16:06) _Home alone. Parents have taken Mika shopping for travelling stuff then going to drop her off at karate._

(16:10) **So you're bored.**

(16:11) _A little._

(16:15) **Let me get comfortable and I shall try to enterain okay?**

(16:28) **Right, so I can only assume your head's been reeling since our phone call?**

(16:32) _A little. A lot actually._

(16:35) _Is it bad that I really like your voice?_

(16:36) **You do?**

(16:39) _YES! Its so deep and rich. It's so soothing. I've … I've had to stop myself from calling and going through to voicemail just to see if you have a personalised recording._

(16:42) **Haha you liked it that much?**

(16:46) _…Maybe._

(16:50) _I'm sorry. You have a really hot voice and it's had my head spinning a bit._

(16:53) **That's rather adorable.**

(16:58) **Although I can put your mind at ease right now. I am not a 'hot' teacher.**

(17:01) _How can you not be? You already have that sexy voice!_

(17:06) **You're setting yourself up for disappointment, kid. I'm the shortest member of staff, I wear glasses for reading and I have a bad temper. My voice seems to be my only saving grace.**

(17:09) _… You wear glasses?_

(17:11) **Yes.**

(17:22) **Eren?**

(17:27) **Wait … Eren do you have a thing for GLASSES now TOO?!**

(17:31) **Wow … you really do have a teacher-kink don't you?**

(17:34) **Do you want me to give you homework and punish you if you don't finish it?**

(17:48) _GGGGGGGGGGGGDLKGLHKFMKCXKMFDM_

(17:50) _DON'T BE SUCH A TEASE!_

(17:55) **I was kidding.**

(17:56) **Although …**

(18:00) _No! No, you were kidding! It's fine heh._

(18:03) **You're giving me too much ammunition right now.**

(18:07) _Balls._

(18:11) **I'm kidding, kid. Mostly.**

(18:14) **So did you have something on your mind before I tormented you?**

(18:17) _Huh? Oh um … yes, I did actually._

(18:29) **… Well?**

(18:32) _Oh right. I just wanted to ask you something … but I feel like it's too personal._

(18:35) **Ask me and we'll find out.**

(18:39) _I was just thinking that we've been talking for over a month now and we still only know the basics about each other._

(18:43) **How about we do it this way. You ask a question, then I'll answer and ask my own question. Then you answer and ask a question. Sound good?**

(18:48) _Pretty perfect actually :)_

(18:50) _I suddenly don't know what to ask._

(18:54) **That's okay. It can be a small question.**

(18:59) _Okay … Do you have any brothers or sisters?_

(19:03) **No. I am an only child.**

(19:06) _Ahh that's a shame. I couldn't imagine life without Mika. Not really._

(19:10) **When's your birthday?**

(19:13) _March 30th._

(19:15) **Oh it's getting close.**

(19:15) _Yours?_

(19:16) **December 25th.**

(19:23) _Wait … so that day I first, accidentally text you … was YOUR BIRTHDAY?!_

(19:25) **Yes.**

(19:28) _Why didn't you say something? I'm so sorry I interrupted your birthday!_

(19:32) **I don't celebrate my birthday. I was grading papers for the first week of school when you messaged me.**

(19:35) _Levi you can't NOT celebrate your birthday!_

(19:39) **Eren.**

(19:40) _Yes?_

(19:43) **I think it's my turn to ask a question.**

(19:46) _Oh yeah, right. Sorry._

(19:50) **You're very hyperactive, did you know that?**

(19:53) _My friends call it 'reckless to the point of stupidity'._

(19:57) _Although I like 'hyperactive' :3_

(20:03) **It does have a cuter ring to it.**

(20:05) _You think I'm cute?_

(20:07) **Next question.**

(20:09) _You can't pass! You have to answer! :P_

(20:12) **Fine. I can't deny that I like talking to you and your voice. At the very least you have a 'cute' if hyper personality.**

(20:16) **What was your favourite subject at school?**

(20:19) _I studied sports, history and German._

(20:25) _How long have you been teaching?_

(20:27) **Ten years. Although it's felt a lot longer.**

(20:35) **What was the last movie you went to see and did you enjoy it?**

(20:39) _That feels like a sneaky two-part question ;) but I'll play along._

(20:45) _I went to watch 'A QUIET PLACE' with Armin and Mikasa. It was so scary! I've never been to a cinema where everyone was so engrossed in the movie that no one made a sound!_

(20:51) _No phone screens lit-up, no one rustled bags of sweets … I didn't even want to go to the bathroom in case I shattered that bubble!_

(20:59) **I'm not a huge fan of horror films.**

(21:04) _I wouldn't call it a straight-up horror, though. It's more like … sci-fi thriller._

(21:06) **Even so.**

(21:11) _Aw if you get scared I'll hold your hand for you ;)_

(21:16) **That means you'll have to meet me first.**

(21:22) _Is that such a bad thing? The more I talk to you the more I like you :)_

(21:29) **I like you too, Eren.**

(21:32) _I especially like hearing you say my name._

(21:36) **I won't lie, I chuckled at that. Don't make me abuse my power over you.**

(21:41) _FINEEEE I'll behave._

(21:47) **Such a good boy.**

(21:50) _I feel like you should be ruffling my hair right now._

(21:53) **Would you like that?**

(21:57) _Don't tell anyone but … I love when people play with my hair. It sucks that it more or less stops once you hit double-digits._

(22:00) **I promise to ruffle your hair at least once when we meet.**

(22:03) _So … we're definitely going to meet, then?_

(22:08) **I'd like to, if you would.**

(22:14) _Of course!_

(22:17) **Right, now, I'm going to have to leave you, brat. Harry Potter is calling out to me.**

(22:20) _You're leaving me for another man?!_

(22:25) **What can I say? He can do tricks with his stick that no one can beat.**

(22:28) _Oh my God that's so dirty and cheesy and what is HAPPENING?!_

(22:32) **Haha I'm sure I can think up a good few more. They'll haunt your dreams.**

(22:38) _No, no, no, no, no!_

(22:43) _You are NOT going to pick me up using Harry Potter!_

(22:50) **Well if it works, why not? Better than picking you up in a Starbucks.**

(22:54) _Good grief you don't go there do you?_

(22:59) **Do I sound like a hipster to you?**

(23:06) _Well, not unless you have thick glasses, wear beanies and cardigans, then no._

(23:08) **Sadly, I can only check glasses off that list. I despise cardigans on men and I'd never be caught dead in a beanie hat.**

(23:11) _I'm trying to get my mental picture of you to match up with 'wears glasses'._

(23:14) _Doesn't seem to be working._

(23:21) **Does this help?**

(23:22) [X] .JPEG

(23:27) _OMFGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

(23:45) **Eren?**

(23:58) **Goodnight brat.**

* * *

 **A/N: Yes I'm a meanie!**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains MILD HARRY POTTER SPOILERS!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 **Chapter 6**

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

.

(12:03) **So … Hange's dog had puppies.**

 _(12:06)_ _OMG can I see?!_

(12:17) **What is it with everyone and puppies?**

(12:20) _Puppies are adorable little balls of energy that love you even if you're a shit human being. They're magic!_

(12:25) **Maybe I should keep one for myself.**

(12:30) _Aw you're not a shit human being, Levi. Sarcastic as fuck, yes, but 'shit' is a little excessive._

(12:33) _Even for you._

(12:35) **Gee thanks.**

(12:39) _You're welcome :D Sooo? Puppies?_

(12:42) **Urgh fine. Bear with me.**

(12:45) [X] .JPEG

(12:48) **This is Bilbo.**

(12:53) _OMG YOU KNOW LORD OF THE RINGS?!_

(12:59) **Do I look like I've been born under a rock? Yes I know Lord of the Rings.**

(13:05) _Oh wow he IS fluffy._

(13:08) _And the others?_

(13:10) **You're insufferable.**

(13:16) [X] .JPEG

(13:18) **Hange and Sirius.**

(13:22) _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_

(13:28) [X] .JPEG

(13:47) **And this is Belle.**

(13:49) _Couldn't stretch it to one last fantasy name?_

(13:53) **Don't knock Disney kid. You'll never win.**

(13:58) _Okay. I just need to ask one question._

(14:04) _How do you rate FROZEN?_

(14:09) **Sadistically over-rated.**

(14:11) _IKNOWRIGHT?!_

(14:15) _It was a song! A FRIGGIN' SONG!_

(14:19) _And if anyone else had sung that song it wouldn't be nearly as powerful._

(14:23) **Eren.**

(14:26) _What?!_

(14:30) **I think you have to let it go.**

(14:56) _Haha no! I fell off the sofa laughing and now Mika is lecturing me! Totally worth it!_

(15:00) **I'm going to have to apologise to your sister for ruining so many moments with you guys.**

(15:03) _Sadly, I need to go and be sociable so I'm being forced to leave my phone in my room for at LEAST two hours._

(15:06) **That's monstrous torture.**

(15:10) _I know right?! Levi SAVE ME!_

(15:15) **What do you want me to do? Chopper my way through your ceiling and take you? Where would we even go? Run away to Hogwarts?**

(15:20) _… Yes. All of that!_

(15:23) **Go and play Eren.**

(15:26) _Enjoy the puppies for me!_

(15:30) **No.**

.

.

(18:46) **Hey Eren, wanna Slytherin my bed tonight? ;)**

.

.

(18:59) **I bet I can make you scream louder than a mandrake.**

.

.

(19:02) **Is that a wand in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?**

.

.

(19:06) _OMG I just came up to get my phone and I have to read these?!_

(19:08) _With my actual EYES!_

(19:14) **Hey Eren ;) I missed u!**

(19:17) _I missed you too?_

(19:22) _Levi, have you been drinking?_

(19:28) **I think so. Hange poured it so … yes?**

(19:32) _Oh God …_

(19:35) **Hey Eren?**

(19:36) **Eren?!**

(19:37) **EREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!**

(19:41) Yes, Levi?

(19:45) **Do you wanna make the Shrieking Shack worthy of its name? ;)**

(19:48) _Promises, promises Levi._

(19:54) **Eeeeee okay.**

(19:57) **Speak parsletongue to me and I'll let my snake out :P**

(20:01) _Fuck you, I choked on a cookie!_

(20:06) **Wanna choke on something else?**

(20:10) _Damnit Levi! Where are you getting these?_

(20:15) **I don't need 'accio' to make you cum.**

(20:21) _OMFG you're such a dirty drunk!_

(20:27) **R u busy?**

(20:31) _I was just getting ready to have a shower. Whyyy?_

(20:37) **Can I call?**

(20:41) _Maybe not the best time._

(20:46) **Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeasr?**

(20:51) _No. Where's Hange?_

(20:55) **Idk I went out for a smook**

(20:59) _A smook? Wait, you smoke?_

(21:06) **Does that bother u?**

(21:11) _I guess I've never really thought about it._

(21:19) **AHHHHHH OMG EREN HEP! HANBE IS COMING 4 ME!**

(21:22) _Good luck, nerd!_

.

.

 **Sunday PM**

.

(14:07) **I think I drank too much?**

(14:09) _Really?_

(14:15) **Mmmm. My head is killing me and I woke up on the sofa. My back feels like a bunch of loose pebbles.**

(14:17) _Oof, that aged you._

(14:23) _I can only hope that all this drinking is because you are so distraught at having not met me yet, as opposed to you actually having a teeny bit of a problem._

(14:29) **Fuck you Freud.**

(14:31) _Oh yes, charm the pants back ON me. That's a twist!_

(14:35) **I don't have the brain power for this.**

(14:39) _You're lucky it's a Sunday and I have no other plans right now. I mean, I could be studying for all you know._

(14:43) **I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible person.**

(14:48) _It's okay I still find you punny._

(14:53) **Huh?**

(14:56) _Scroll up._

(15:05) **I just … there are no fucking words for the embarrassment I'm feeling right now.**

(15:11) _Awww see, before I was really tempted to mock you, but I bet you look so sad and cute bundled up on the sofa, with big bags under your eyes._

(15:15) **Fuck off, shitty brat.**

(15:19) _Maybe next time you should just give your phone to Hange or something?_

(15:23) **Hmmm. That maniac would probably track you through GPS or some shit.**

(15:28) _She can't really do that … can she?_

(15:34) **Oh, touchy are we? Why? Something you don't want me to know?**

(15:36) _Hardly._

(15:42) **Ahhh! My skull feels like it's trying to break free.**

(15:47) _Great. Now that songs going to be stuck in my head all sodding day._

(15:52) **Don't be mean to me. My skulls going to crack open and I still have papers to mark.**

(15:56) _You poor man! Can I help?_

(15:59) **I wish you could.**

(16:05) **Very tempted to give everyone the same grade. Is that unethical?**

(16:09) _No! You'd be the coolest teacher ever._

(16:16) **Oi brat! I'm already the cool teacher.**

(16:19) _You'll need some shades for tomorrow._

(16:23) **Shades?**

(16:26) _For your bloodshot eyes._

(16:31) **I'm sure I can dig some out from somewhere.**

(16:37) _So … you're a smoker?_

(16:41) **Er … yeah. Is that going to be a problem for you?**

(16:45) _I've never really thought of it before._

(16:48) _I guess it's fine._

(16:54) **See now I feel like you're just saying that. Do any of your friends smoke?**

(16:57) _… No._

(17:00) **I see.**

(17:04) _But it's fine! I don't mind!_

(17:06) **I guess we'll see.**

(17:09) _Well –I mean –I'm sure there's things about me that you'd find weird or irritating._

(17:13) **Like what?**

(17:15) _I crack my knuckles a lot._

(17:17) _I … er … snort when I laugh?_

(17:20) _Oh! I have it!_

(17:23) **You don't have shit.**

(17:25) _I totally have it!_

(17:29) _I have a small behavioural problem._

(17:33) **What sort of problem?**

(17:36) _It's only a minor thing. A very mild form of ADHD according to father dearest._

(17:40) **Do you need meds for it?**

(17:46) _No. Had some when I was younger, but it's okay now. For the most part. I just can't seem to keep myself still. Something will jiggle, or I'll start drumming a very loud tune. Mika usually keeps me in check but she's not in half my classes._

(17:54) _She got me a fidget-spinner for Christmas._

(17:57) **Those are meant to be good.**

(18:00) _I broke mine._

(18:04) **Of course you did.**

(18:06) _Hey don't judge me!_

(18:08) **Judging.**

(18:10) _LEVIIIIIIIIIIIII!_

(18:13) **God you sound like Hange.**

(18:15) _Haha!_

(18:17) **You're so lucky you can't scare me off so easily. Otherwise I'd disown your arse.**

(18:19) _No you wouldn't!_

(18:22) **No, you're right.**

(18:24) **I like you too much.**

(18:27) _You … mean that?_

(18:30) **Of course Eren. I don't say these things lightly.**

(18:34) _Oh! Dinner's ready!_

(18:38) **Time for me to reconcile with my lover, Harry Potter.**

(18:41) _Don't do anything I wouldn't do!_

(18:45) **Kid, I've already done so much you'd never even dream of.**

(18:49) _I look forward to finding out ;)_

~0~

A gentle knocking on the front door drew Levi's eyes away from the book in his lap. Frowning down the hallway he let out a low groan, unwilling to move from his warm cocoon on the sofa. It really was warm. He had a cup of tea just within reach and the TV had been turned down to a low hum so he could concentrate. He really didn't need a distraction right now.  
The knocking continued.

Summoning up his energy, he kicked the blanket from around his legs, grumbling as he stood up. Every joint creaked as he straightened up and stretched his arms and shoulders. His head still felt a little fluffy but there was only so much tea and painkillers he could take before he blacked out completely.

Padding barefoot down the hallway, Levi tugged the door open not even bothering with the peep-hole.

Isabel gave a sheepish grin as she leaned against the doorway. "Hey stranger," she grinned a little wider.

"What do you want?" Levi deadpanned.

"Farlan's on a conference call with China. Fancy some company?"

"I knew I'd regret you moving in," he said. "Fine. Come in. You know where the kitchen is."

"So hospitable," Isabel smirked weakly before edging into the kitchen.

Levi listened to her potter around, idly picking up his book from the arm of the sofa and settling back down. About five minutes later, Isabel shuffled into the room and wriggled down onto the other end of the sofa and curled her legs up underneath her.

"What're you watching?"

"I don't know. I was reading."

Isabel peered over his shoulder and grinned. "Oh, so you're powering through Harry Potter then?"

"I might be."

"I hope I get to meet this kid," Isabel snickered. "He seems to be a good influence on you."

Levi rolled the eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Farlan and I have been trying to get you to read these books and _love them_ for the last ten years minimum. Now, some kid talks to you for a month and you read them? Not only one to try it out, you're going through the whole stack!"

Setting said book aside, Levi took his glasses off and turned to look at her, raising a sardonic eyebrow. "Do you have a point Issy?"

"You l-i-i-i-i-i-k-e him!" she chimed, nudging his shoulder.

He stiffened slightly but gave her a tight-lipped smile. "He's a good kid. Mad and very emotional, but good."

"Well if you ask me you could use a little more emotion in your life."

Levi snorted. "Yeah sure. Cause you lot aren't enough for me."

Isabel chuckled and sipped at her tea. Lifting a corner of his blanket, she wriggled under it and nestled her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you've found someone," she hummed.

"It's not like that, Is."

"I know, I know," she waved her hand. "But … it is nice to see you smiling more." She tilted her head to look up at him. "Are you going to meet him soon?"

"We're sort of skirting around the subject."

"Have you asked him about it at all?"

"Yes. He seems to want to meet me too."

"That's good isn't it?" she frowned at his sombre expression.

"I just –what if he doesn't like me?" He looked across the room at nothing in particular. His chest felt tight. "He already had an issue with me smoking. What if he –takes issue with other things?"

"You're over-thinking this, sweetie."

"I just … He seems perfect."

"In what way?" Isabel asked, cradling her mug in her hands.

"He just … He's been through a fair bit in the last few months alone, even before I came along. He just … sort of gets through it and makes jokes."

"Coping mechanism?" Isabel frowned.

"Maybe," he picked at the blanket spread over their laps. "I don't think so though." He glanced at the redhaired girl beside him. "I called him the other night. Per Hange's threats."

"Oh God YES!" Isabel grinned, "I bet that went down like a ton of bricks."

"It was a bit rocky but … Issy, I think we clicked. I never click with anyone and –when I heard his voice –it felt so wonderful."

"Really?" she breathed.

Levi nodded. "He –I told him my age. I'd been hedging around it for a while as you know, and I finally told him over the phone."

"Oh right. How did that go?"

"He laughed at me. Told me I'd been stupid for being so worried. As soon as I heard him laugh –ARGH!"

Isabel laughed and squeezed his hand. "Oh, Levi! Careful or you might just get some colour in those cheeks!" She reached over and pinched his cheeks.

He swatted her hand away and tutted at her. She shrugged with a smirk before turning her attention to the quiet TV. They relaxed that way in quiet companionship for an hour or so before another quiet knock came from the front door.

"Oh, that's probably Farlan," Isabel yawned, unfurling herself from the sofa.

Levi tossed the blanket off him and swung his legs over the edge of the sofa. Together, he and Isabel padded down the hallway. On the other side of the door a 5'6" man with dirty blonde hair and shadow on his jaw leaned against the doorframe.

"I thought I'd find you here," he grinned down at Isabel, tucking her under his chin as they hugged.

"Well I figured it was easier instead of making noise in the next room."

Levi smiled at the pair of them, arms folded across his chest. They'd been together for years and he should be used to seeing them acting affectionate towards one another. It never really niggled at him until now.

"Okay well, I think we should all head to bed," Farlan chuckled quietly. "We all have work in the morning."

"I'll be right in," Isabel smiled as Farlan dropped a kiss on her forehead and made his way back down the hallway towards their flat. Turning to Levi, Isabel cocked her head to the side. "You can text me if you start to feel over-whelmed you know?"

"I know it's just –bad habits."

She smiled sympathetically before leaning in for a hug. "It's alright, chickpea."

"Eurgh, what did we say about no nicknames?"

"That it's a lame rule and you need a boot up your arse?" she smirked.

Levi rolled his eyes, a smile teasing at his mouth. "Go to bed, woman."

"Fine!" she pecked him on the cheek. "I like this new you."

Furrowing his brow he asked, "New me?"

"This version of you. I've never seen it before."

"WHAT, Issy?"

"I just like seeing you in love, that's all," she stuck her tongue out before backing out of the doorway. "Have a good night!"

"Oi, I'm not in love!" he stated leanig out of his door and glaring down the hallway.

"Sure thing!" Isabel called back before closing her front door.

"I'm not," Levi ground out to no one in particular before closing his door.

Just as he was getting ready for bed, shutting off all the lights as he carried his book into the bedroom, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was from Eren.

.

.

(23:13) _Sorry I've been quiet. Had 'family-night'. Hope your night was okay. Have good dreams. E x_

.

.

Levi found himself staring at that small 'x' for a moment longer than necessary before Isabel's words resurfaced in his head.

"Shit!"

* * *

 **A/N: For the actual pictures feel free to find this story on Archive of Our Own under the same name :P x**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains MILD HARRY POTTER SPOILERS!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 **Chapter 8**

.

.

 **Tuesday AM**

.

(10:02) **Hey I didn't hear from you yesterday, are you okay?**

(10:06) _Not really no. Had to go to therapy yesterday._

(10:08) **Um why?**

(10:13) _My arm, mainly. Although I think my parents are worried it's going to trigger something in me again. I feel like they're walking on egg-shells around me and it's really making me feel shitty._

(10:16) **What are they so worried about?**

(10:19) _That I'm suddenly going to go on angry rampages like I did when I first started secondary school._

(10:22) **Was there a reason for it happening that time?**

(10:24) _My parents got into a huge fight. Contemplated divorce. Apparently a nurse at work was flirting with my dad and he was being a bit dense about it all._

(10:27) **Oh, that old cliché.**

(10:30) _Yep. Although, mum made a formal complaint instead, nurse transferred out and contact ceased so. Crisis averted._

(10:35) **But it made you angry and go on angry rampages?**

(10:39) _Well when your entire life is going to be uprooted and changed, what else am I supposed to do?_

(10:43) **Not getting shot, is a good way to start.**

(10:45) _What do you mean by that?_

(10:48) **Well it's a long story but my life was about to be changed for the better and then one morning my parents are dragging me to the airport and shipping me off to the army.**

(10:53) _So … you didn't even go voluntarily?_

(10:57) **Nope. Kicking and screaming the whole way.**

(11:01) _I'm sorry._

(11:04) **Yeah. Me too.**

(11:06) _How were your parents when you came home?_

(11:09) **Well, that's the thing. After my first tour I came back and told them I was disowning them as my parents. I've not really spoken to them since.**

(11:13) _I'm sure there's more to the story but –well –I want you to know that your friends aren't the only family you have._

(11:15) **Oh?**

(11:18) _I'll be your family too. If –you know –if you'll have me._

(11:22) **That's really kind of you, Eren.**

(11:25) _Although you may have to put up with Mika and Armin too._

(11:29) **As long as you can handle Farlan, Issy and have a stick to beat Hange –I'd say we'll be fine.**

(11:32) _Good :)_

(11:42) **So are you feeling better now?**

(11:49) _More so than before._

(11:51) **I'm glad I could help.**

(11:59) _Aren't you meant to be teaching? You're being really bad right now._

(12:04) **It was actually planned weeks ago that this was going to be a prep class, so it's fine.**

(12:09) _Still though. We need to set some boundaries._

(12:13) **Oh shut it, brat. You know you'd go stir-crazy without spamming me all day.**

(12:16) _HEY! It's not SPAM!_

(12:19) _SPAM is just a load of crap you don't want to see!_

(12:24) **Forgive me for offending you.**

(12:28) **I meant multiple loving messages.**

(12:31) _That's better._

(12:34) **Brat.**

(12:39) _Feels nice having my phone back._

(12:41) **I know you were silent yesterday but why didn't you have it? At all?**

(12:45) _My mum took it off me like I was a child._

(12:47) _She sat me down with her and dad in the kitchen and started giving me a lecture._

(12:49) **About what?**

(12:55) _She was going on about being worried for me, that I was texting someone far too much even when I had Mika and Armin in the same room as me. She said that if I was still troubled about this whole Reiner thing, then I could go to either of them and talk about it._

(13:04) _Her and dad seem to think I'm trying to disassociate from my feelings and escape the 'reality of the situation'._

(13:07) **I mean, don't get me wrong I wish I could have been there to knock his teeth out, but you handled it well enough. Minus the burn on your arm.**

(13:09) _I know right?! That's what I said but apparently I was being reckless._

(13:13) _And Awww, look at you being all protective over me ;3_

(13:17) **I'm allowed to be protective of you, shitty brat. It's practically my right at this point.**

(13:21) _That's so friggin' cute!_

(13:23) **Shut up.**

(13:29) **Anyway, I get that your parents are worried about you, but it could be so much worse. You could be out drinking hardcore shit in the park, doing drugs, sleeping around with sluts and bimbo's and sling-shotting stones at your neighbors' cat.**

(13:36) _OMG Levi did you do all these things?!_

(13:38) **No, of course not.**

(13:40) **Not all of them, anyway.**

(13:42) _OMG WHAT ONE DID YOU DO?!_

(13:46) _NO WAIT, DON'T TELL ME! IMMA GUESS!_

(13:48) **You won't.**

(13:50) _I'm gonna say … the cat._

(13:55) _It was the cat, wasn't it?_

(13:58) **Fuck you, you're too good at guessing.**

(14:02) _Levi that's just cruel!_

(14:05) **Got to run, kid. Teaching the Year 7's now.**

(14:07) _DON'T SLING-SHOT THE KIDDIES!_

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.

.

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(14:32) **Ha. No promises.**

.

.

.

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

(16:07) _So what's on the agenda for you tonight, oh adventurous one?_

(16:10) **Believe or not, we're having a game night.**

(16:12) _We?_

(16:17) **Issy, Farlan, Hange, and Mike. I'm the odd man out.**

(16:20) _Well maybe you won't have to play alone any longer._

(16:23) **Oh? Is that because you're going to come and join this madness?**

(16:24) _Maybe._

(16:28) **You'd regret it instantly. Especially if we break out the Monopoly board.**

(16:31) _I may have to bring some of my old football gear then._

(16:34) **Or at least a crash helmet.**

(16:36) _And knee pads!_

(16:49) **Alright we're gonna start now. I'd say wish me luck but I don't need it.**

(16:52) _That confident are you._

(16:58) **Trust me kid. I'll destroy them all.**

.

.

.

.

(18:47) **Shit, someone's gotten MONOPOLY out. I shouldn't have cheaped out on the sturdy furniture.**

(18:50) _Ha. This is what you get for living life on the edge!_

(18:55) **Plans?**

(19:07) _Movie night. Armin, Mika and tons of snacks and popcorn._

(19:11) **Sounds fun. Movies?**

(19:15) _I've convinced them to rewatch the Harry Potter movies! We're just finishing Chamber of Secrets!_

(19:19) **I can't wait to watch them.**

(19:23) _Really? You're waiting?_

(19:26) **Of course. Need to read the original first, before watching it on the silver screen.**

(19:31) _Good boy._

(19:33) _Maybe we could watch them together?_

(19:36) **I'd love that.**

.

.

.

.

(20:19) **Eren, I did a bad thing.**

(20:22) _What did you do?_

(20:25) _I'm ninja texting in a blanket fort FYI._

(20:31) **I never made blanket forts. Should I be jealous?**

(20:35) _Um YES! Blanket forts are amazing and ours? They're ridonkulous!_

(20:39) **That wasn't even a word but whatever.**

(20:42) _So what did you do?_

(20:46) **I may have thrown Harry Potter against the wall.**

(20:51) _WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?_

(20:53) _WHAT DID HARRY EVER DO TO YOU?_

(20:58) **I'm sorry. He was just the closest thing to me.**

(21:02) _Why did you need to throw anything at all?!_

(21:06) **I may have lost a game of Clue.**

(21:11) _What did you flop on?_

(21:15) **The weapon.**

(21:18) _Really?! I'm amazed. Would have expected you to have a whole arsenal of weaponary._

(21:21) **That's in my country cottage.**

(21:26) _Why do you have weapons in your country cottage?_

(21:34) **Well, would YOU suspect anyone living in a cottage of having weapons?**

(21:38) _Well … no._

(21:43) **There you go.**

(21:47) _So where is this little cottage?_

(21:51) **It's up in Lincoln. It's a converted stable.**

(21:55) _So … it's not exactly small?_

(21:59) **Not really, no. It's split into two properties. I own one.**

(22:05) _Do you get to go there often?_

(22:11) **Most end-of-term holidays I'll go up there. Get to clean it up and relax in solitude.**

(22:17) _You sad, lonely old man._

(22:28) **Maybe I've just never had the right company.**

(22:34) _Maybe not._

(22:40) **Maybe you should join me.**

(21:43) _Maybe I will._

.

.

.

.

(23:57) _So Mika keeps teasing me about you._

(00:10) **Believe it or not, I'm getting bombarded with the same treatment.**

(00:16) _It's such a good thing we're not in the same room. All our friends would gang up on us!_

(00:22) **Well I'm sure if you were here, we could out-romance the fuck out of all of them.**

(00:26) _With words like that, how could I not be smitten?_

(00:30) **Mmmm I feel so languid right now. Wish you WERE here.**

(00:34) _What would you do if I was?_

(00:37) **Play with your hair.**

(00:40) **Give you a massage.**

(00:43) **Tease you.**

(00:46) **I bet you look adorable when you blush.**

(00:49) _I … might be a little pink right now._

(00:53) **Show me.**

(00:55) _No!_

(00:57) **Why not?**

(1:00) _I … Idk. Didn't think we really did that?_

(1:04) **Hmmmm you're right. I kind of like it like this. Mystery.**

(1:06) _Definitely sexier ;)_

(1:13) **Oh, definitely kid. You're such a sweet innocent little thing. What're you doing getting tangled up with a criminal like me?**

(1:18) _Haha you're not a criminal._

(1:25) **Well no. I got away with a warning.**

(1:29) _Wait … WHAT?!_

(1:36) _You wait until nearly two months into this to tell me that you're a criminal?!_

(1:40) **Disappointed?**

(1:43) _Um … a little turned on actually._

(1:47) _Aaaaaaaaand with THAT I'm going to hide under my bed._

(1:49) _BYEEE!_

(1:53) **Criminals turn you on, eh?**

(1:59) _Nooo! I lied! Before I thought you were a murderer but now I HAVE PROOF of your criminal past!_

(2:04) **Don't lie to me, kid. You find me hot.**

(2:07) **Maybe I should rock up to your house on my bike and whisk you away for a date to watch the sunrise.**

(2:17) _How have you managed to be hot, dangerous, romantic and sentimental all in the same text?!_

(2:20) _Also WHAT?! YOU HAVE A BIKE?!_

(2:27) **Technically I have a bike and a car.**

(2:31) _And a flat and a cottage?_

(2:36) _How much money DO YOU have?_

(2:40) _Shit, sorry. That was rude._

(2:46) **Nosey more than anything. Anyway kid, it's getting late. We should both turn in for the night.**

(2:50) _I'll be okay. I got a free period first thing so I can get an extra hour or so sleep._

(2:54) **Sleep tight, kid.**

(2:57) _Text me something sweet in the morning? Since you'll be awake before me? ;)_

(3:01) **I don't really do 'sweet' but … Maybe I'll make an exception.**

(3:06) _Of course you will. Because it's me!_

(3:10) **We'll see, kid. Get some sleep.**

(3:15) _Goodnight Levi._

(3:17) **Goodnight Eren.**

.

.

.

.

 **Friday PM**

.

(12:03) _Are we ever going to meet up face-to-face?_

(12:05) **Well happy Friday to you too.**

(12:09) _Well I'M SORRY, Mr. Rebel, but a certain someone didn't text me something adoringly sweet this morning so I've been grumpy all day._

(12:15) **You're lucky I'm on lunch break right now.**

(12:18) _So? Are we going to?_

(12:24) _I mean I get that it's scary, and I'm shitting myself just typing this out._

(12:27) _Sorry, this was a bad idea._

(12:32) **Eren, calm down for a moment.**

(12:38) **I'm more than anxious to meet you too. However you want to meet. If you want to just stay friends then that's perfectly fine. I'm not about to put any pressure on you for anything.**

(12:46) **If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can have control of arranging the first time.**

(12:49) _You mean like … I get to decide where we meet? What we do? Where we go?_

(12:53) **If you'd like. If it makes you feel more comfortable.**

(12:57) _That means a lot, Levi. Thank you._

(12:59) **Anytime Eren.**

(13:02) **I'm literally standing outside my classroom tapping this out to you. Wanted to say a proper goodbye for the afternoon.**

(13:05) _Go inside you bad man! Go and teach the younglings!_

(13:09) **This lot are Year 11's. Majority of them are 16 years old.**

(13:11) _Try not to kill anyone._

.

.

.

.

(17:09) **Eren said he wants to meet up with me sometime soon.**

(17:13) OMG THAT'S AMAZING!

(17:16) What are you going to wear?

(17:20) **Can we take a moment to realise the gravity of this situation? He's agreeing to meet a man that's almost twice his age.**

(17:22) Levi you're 34. That's not 'twice his age'. 

(17:26) **Either way. I told him he could take control of the details of meeting up.**

(17:27) Why?

(17:29) **I guess in case he wanted to back-out at the last minute? This way all I have to do is show up and hope he doesn't run without saying a word.**

(17:32) He's not going to run Levi. He likes you.

(17:35) **Even so. I'm just trying not to get my hopes up. I told him if he wants to just remain friends then that's okay.**

(17:38) LEVIII! Stop denying yourself happiness for two goddamn seconds!

(17:40) You like this guy. You're allowed to want more.

(17:45) **I'm not telling you for advice, Four-eyes. I'm just keeping you updated.**

(17:48) Whatever you say Cappy-tain! ;)

(17:51) **Go jump in the ocean.**

(17:53) SPOIL SPORT!

* * *

 **A/N: WILL HANGE TAKE LEVI'S ADVICE?!**

 **WILL LEVI LEARN NOT TO CURSE?**

 **FIND OUT NEXT WEEK! :D**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains MILD HARRY POTTER SPOILERS!**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 **Chapter 8**

.

.

 **Saturday AM**

.

(10:23) _So I've been thinking about us meeting up and I think we should definitely do it sometime soon._

(10:27) **I'm free every weekend, or if you'd prefer more wiggle room there's a half-term holiday the week after next.**

(10:30) _That could work._

(10:34) _Although there are still some things we don't really know about one another._

(10:38) **Yes, but that's what meeting up is for, right?**

(10:41) _Yeees but … Sorry, I'm just nervous. I don't want either one of us to feel awkward._

(10:44) **Let's start simple. Where do you live?**

(10:47) _I'm in London. You?_

(10:50) **Hayes. So I'm not that far from you.**

(10:53) _About an hour, right?_

(10:55) **Precisely. Nice and easy.**

(10:57) **I'd happily come and meet you in London if that makes you feel better?**

(11:03) _Okay how early do you want to meet?_

(11:05) **Eren, I'm a teacher. I'm up at 6AM every day.**

(11:09) _Okay, so how about we meet for 11AM next Tuesday?_

(11:12) **Why Tuesday?**

(11:14) _No lectures that day._

(11:17) **Okay so central London, next Tuesday at 11? Where are we going to meet?**

(11:20) _We could just meet up outside Charing Cross station?_

(11:24) **Sounds simple enough. Did you have any ideas of what you wanted to do?**

(11:26) **Or does it depend on how 'hideous' you think I am?**

(11:30) _Levi, there's no way you can be hideous at this point._

(11:31) **Oh?**

(11:34) _You're a hot, rebel teacher who smokes ;)_

(11:37) _I was sort of thinking about just winging it._

(11:42) **You don't have any idea of where you'd want to go? Or what to do?**

(11:45) _Levi, this is new and scary. I don't really know how I'm going to react after I see you for the first time._

(11:48) **I understand. This is why I'm letting you plan this out.**

(11:55) _Okay so … you'd be okay with me planning something?_

(11:59) **Of course, kid.**

(12:03) _Okay! Let's hope Google can spit out something useful!_

.

.

(13:45) _Do you know how to cook?_

(13:49) **No Eren. I made it all the way to 34 without knowing how to cook.**

(13:52) _Woah what's with the snappy tone? Did I annoy you or something?_

(13:54) _You know, more than usual?_

(13:59) **No, sorry. Just trying to explain to these morons why they can't join me next Tuesday.**

(14:03) _And that makes you angry? Why?_

(14:08) **More frustrated than anything.**

(14:10) _Is this a bad time? Do you want me to leave you to deal with them?_

(14:15) **Please.**

(14:17) _Buzz me later if you wanna chat._

(14:20) **Will do.**

.

.

 **Sunday AM**

.

(00:34) **Once upon a time in Ancient China there was a goddess named Chih-nii who was renowned throughout the land for creating the most stunning gowns of brocade and clouds.**

(00:39) **For her work, her father married her off to a mortal man on earth, who herded cows.**

(00:43) **However, Chih-nii fell so deeply in love with her mortal husband that she soon forgot all about making intricate gowns and instead settled for a simple life with the man she loved.**

(00:51) **Her father was so enraged that she would waste herself away, that he cast the lovers apart.**

(00:55) _Mmmm you woke me up …_

(00:58) **Was it worth it?**

(1:02) _Perhaps._

(1:06) **Would you like to know how it ends?**

(1:07) _Please?_

(1:12) **He cast the cowherd into the stars and his own daughter, Chih-nii, into the other.**

(1:14) **Between them, he created the Heavenly River –now known as the Milky way –forever keeping them apart.**

(1:17) **They only get to see one another once a year, when the stars align just right, and they can look into one anothers eyes.**

(1:21) _Wow … Levi that was beautiful._

(1:22) _Where did you learn this from?_

(1:26) **I like all forms of history, Eren. Myths and legends are a part of that, despite what people like to tell themselves.**

(1:29) _I just didn't really take you for a romantic sort._

(1:34) **I have my moments. Just wanted to make up for being snappy earlier.**

(1:37) _Oh right. That. What happened in the end?_

(1:42) **They ended up ordering take-away and trying to guess how you looked, what we were doing and also trying to help me plan the 'perfect date'.**

(1:49) _Woah … Your friends have no boundaries, do they?_

(1:51) **Not a single one.**

(1:55) _So how do they think I look, then?_

(1:56) **Fishing much?**

(1:59) _No, honestly! I always find it funny when people try and guess how I look. They're almost always wrong._

(2:03) **For some reason they seem to think you're blonde.**

(2:05) _Ha! Already wrong!_

(2:08) **Yeah I figured. You don't SOUND blonde.**

(2:11) _Not a fan of blonde people then?_

(2:14) **Not hugely, no.**

(2:17) _Ah good. Then you won't go running off with Armin then. He's bright blonde!_

(2:20) **Definitely need new sunglasses.**

(2:24) _Haha! What eeeeelse?_

(2:28) **The whole average height, blue eyes, broad shoulders crap.**

(2:34) _Ew none of those things!_

(2:37) _How do YOU think I look?_

(2:43) **I figured you had darker hair, dark eyes, athletic enough to not be overly muscled.**

(2:50) _Damn you for being such a smartie pants!_

(2:53) **I was right?**

(2:54) _Mostly._

(2:58) **What did I get wrong?**

(3:03) _My eyes are green._

(3:05) **Oh really? You know green eyes are rare? Only about 2% of the population has them.**

(3:07) _See? Aren't you lucky you landed such a gem?_

(3:10) **Not really. That's still about 150million odd people.**

(3:14) _Wow, you really do love these back-handed compliments._

(3:18) **It's called flirting and I'll admit I'm a little rusty.**

(3:22) _How rusty is 'a little'?_

(3:26) **Well it's been 5 years since my last date so –A lot rusty.**

(3:33) _Okay now we HAVE to do something during the day!_

(3:36) **It doesn't have to be anything extreme. I'm coming to London to see you. That's it.**

(3:40) _I'll look at things to do anyway :)_

(3:44) **Get some sleep, kid.**

(3:48) _Fiiine. Night Levi._

(3:51) **Night Brat.**

~0~

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

(14:35) **So how nervous are you? Less than a week away.**

(14:38) _I know! Mika and Armin keep teasing me about it whenever they get a chance!_

(14:42) _I am pretty nervous about it. But –a good kind of nervous._

(14:48) **Good. Me too.**

(14:53) **Have you talked to your parents about it?**

(14:59) _No … They'd just worry._

(15:03) **Eren it's not wise to not tell your parents where you're going.**

(15:09) _Okay DAD. I've told them I'm going up London with Armin. We already dropped Mikasa off Monday for her to get the coach to Dover._

(15:14) **And does Armin know that you're using him as a cover?**

(15:18) _Yeees._

(15:21) _He understands why and says he can cover for me if my mum calls him for whatever reason._

(15:25) **Is that likely to happen?**

(15:28) _Only in an emergency._

(15:33) **Well let's hope that doesn't happen.**

(15:36) _God I don't remember the last time I was this excited!_

(15:40) **Let's just hope you don't see me, freak out, and run for the next train home.**

(15:45) _I'm not rude, Levi! Gosh!_

(15:49) **Such a little charmer, aren't you?**

(15:55) _Bugger._

(15:58) _Just got home and mum tells me it's my turn to cook dinner._

(16:03) **You cook?**

(16:07) _I can cook enough to live well by, if that's any good?_

(16:13) **Well, if next Tuesday goes well then maybe I can teach you something some time.**

(16:16) _I promise not to burn down your kitchen!_

(16:20) **That doesn't fill me with confidence, kid.**

.

.

(19:24) [X].JPEG

(19:26) _Voila! Proof I can cook!_

(19:37) **Goddamn, kid, that looks good. Now my left-overs are looking pretty sad.**

(19:42) _I promise, I'll cook for you sometime with my menial skills._

(19:47) **And I will show you a meal you will never forget … sometime.**

(19:50) _Levi?_

(19:54) **Yes, Eren?**

(19:58) _Make Tuesday come quicker?_

(20:03) **I wish I could. Now go away and eat that gorgeous food.**

(20:07) **I'll stay here with Harry.**

(20:11) _Which one are you on right now?_

(20:15) **Half Blood Prince.**

(20:17) **I'm going to get emotional aren't I?**

(20:19) _Spoilers! ;)_

.

.

.

 **Thursday AM**

.

(00:57) **I HATE YOU!**

(1:12) _M'sleeping._

(1:26) **WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME?**

(1:28) _Cause I'm sleeping?_

(1:34) **HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME THAT DUMBLEDORE DIES?! That's something you warn a guy about!**

(1:45) _… Then you're really not going to like book 7._

(1:56) **What's going to happen in Book 7, Eren?**

(2:04) **You can't just warn a guy and then fall asleep.**

(2:10) **Eren?**

(2:17) **You suck, shitty brat.**

.

.

(3:14) **OMG George lost his ear! What the hell? He can't even have it grown back!**

.

.

(4:56) **I'm anxious now. Should they really be trekking through unprotected and without anyone knowing where they are?**

.

.

(10:00) _Do I even want to know what time you made it to bed last night?_

(10:35) **Eren … I did something bad.**

(10:39) _Worse than throwing Harry Potter?_

(10:50) **Worse.**

(10:59) _Did you set Harry Potter on fire?_

(11:35) **Worse.**

(11:45) _Levi … What did you do?_

(12:06) **I may have called in sick today. Have barely left my bed except to make tea. I've been reading whenever I'm conscious enough.**

(12:15) _Levi, I think we need to sit down and have a serious discussion about your obsession._

(12:20) **It was you.**

(12:23) **YOU did this to me.**

(12:36) _And I have absolutely no regrets ;)_

(12:41) **… You are pure evil.**

(12:48) **Now go away. Reading.**

(12:54) _Anti-social._

(12:58) **Bratty shithead.**

~0~

 **Monday PM**

.

"Sooo," Issy grinned leaning over the table on her elbows. "Tomorrow's the big day at long last?"

Levi felt his cheeks heat up as he looked up to see both of his friends leering at him over the coffee table. He sat in a jumbo beanbag chair dealing out playing cards. They all had their drinks and the TV had been turned right the way down.

"Yes," he said. "Tomorrow's the day."

"Are you nervous?"

"Of course I am," he ground his back teeth, reshuffling the cards.

Farlan quirked a small smile. "You've been so uptight all weekend and all the late-night reading isn't helping these," he tapped under his eyes.

Levi raised his hand and tenderly touched at his skin. He hated having bags, but his sleeping habits had never been great. He was used to them. Since pulling an all-nighter on Thursday night, he had forced himself to sleep properly over the last few nights purely so he didn't look his age.

"Shut up," he grumbled.

Farlan chuckled, moving to grab a bag of Doritos. Issy swatted his shoulder before turning her attention back to Levi. "So, have you two discussed all the details?"

"Yes," Levi said. "We're meeting outside Charing Cross station at 11AM. Hopefully then we can enjoy a full day together."

"Are you worried that he might want to bail?"

Glaring up at the redhead, Levi took a long sip of his tea. "Isn't everyone when they go on, what is basically, a blind date?"

"Does Eren think it's a date?" Farlan asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Do _you_ think it's a date?"

"I don't know."

"Then just think of it as you're going to London to meet a new friend. Nothing more." The blonde shrugged. "If you put too much pressure on this one meeting, it's just going to fail before it starts."

Levi glowered at the both of them. "I thought you invited me here to play cards not to interrogate me."

"Oh shut up, you grumpy sod!" Issy chimed. "Do you know how much whining we've had to put up with over the last few weeks?!"

Another glare.

"' _Oh, Issy what if he thinks I look weird!'_ , ' _Farlan, is my cologne too potent?_ '" she teased. "You even asked Hange for advice!"

"Why did I come here?" Levi asked himself.

"Cause you need help, mate," Farlan chuckled. "Besides, you're going to panic until you meet him anyway. Might as well panic with friends."

"I _can_ just leave," he intoned.

"You could," Issy agreed. "However, then poor Eren would lose out on social time with his friends and family because you can't get over that bloody Hedwig died!"

"That was Harry's first and best friend in world! _Of course_ I freaked when she died!"

Isabel raised a knowing eyebrow at him and sunk back in her armchair with a triumphant smirk. "I rest my case. You're smitten."

"Fuck off, Red."

Isabel accepted the cards he handed her, adjusting her position on the edge of her seat. "So have you picked out your oufit for tomorrow?" she asked.

Levi narrowed his eyes, trying to determine whether she was mocking him or not. Her curious expression lifted some of the weight on his shoulders. "Yes. Sort of. The cold weather makes it easier to layer up without looking like a tit."

"What're you going to wear?" Farlan asked.

"That blue blazer you guys got me for Christmas."

"It was for your _birthday_!" Issy stressed.

"It's the same thing and you know it."

Farlan rolled his blue eyes. "You really going for that hot teacher vibe then?"

Issy choked on her tea as she laughed. "Oh God! Farlan, don't tell me I'm going to lose you to a shortie in a blazer!"

"I'm feeling attacked right now," Levi deadpanned. They started a game of ' _Go Fish_ ' just to warm themselves up. "So, seriously, do you think there are any subjects I should avoid?"

"Has he mentioned anything bad?" Farlan frowned.

"Only about his sisters ex, Reiner? Although I don't think that's much of an issue for him."

"What about his parents?"

Levi cocked his head to the side. "He seems fine with his parents," he stated. "He hasn't told them that he's coming to meet me, but I think he'll probably tell them once we've met."

"Is that definite?" Issy frowned.

"Well no," he hedged. "His parents just seem like the over-protective type. His dad is a doctor so …"

"I say just go with the flow," Farlan said reshuffling his hand. "Is, do you have any four's?"

"Go Fish."

"What if it's awkward?"

"Then make it un-awkward."

"Okay, if you two are just going to make up words, then I don't know why I bother coming to you for advice."

Issy and Farlan shared a look before laughing. "Alright, alright we'll stop teasing you," Issy said with a smile. "It's just adorable! We haven't seen you in this state for ages! We've got years of pent-up teasing to get out."

"Can't you wait until _after_ I meet the kid?"

Issy bit her lip and cocked her head to one side. "I'm sorry, Levi," she said sincerely.

He shrugged a stiff shoulder. "It's fine."

They continued to play, escalating from tame games to Cheat, Gin, and eventually Poker. They rarely played seeing as Levi had the 'ultimate poker face'. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride whenever they mentioned it. As they played, Levi let his mind wander.

This time tomorrow he would be with Eren.

The thought made his stomach knot with trepidation.

He had so many doubts swimming through his head buy he couldn't voice any of them. He knew his friends were probably sick of his nonsense at this point. He'd tried to stop himself from stressing as he'd eaten dinner with friends. However as they'd settled in the living room playing games and drinking tea, his mouth had run-off a little.

.

.

When he eventually dragged himself back down the hallway to his own flat, and slumped back against the door, it was already 11PM. He hadn't wanted to stay out so late but Issy and Farlan kept telling him that he 'only lived down the hall!'

He hadn't really been able to argue with that.

However, eventually Farlan had let him leave so he could rest up for his 'big date'. Levi could have sworn that if he didn't love those two, he'd have killed them a long time ago.

With a yawn, Levi didn't bother doing anything else except dragging himself down to his bedroom. The sheets were cool as he shed his clothes and slid between them. Despite the chill in the air, the cool sheets sent pleasant shivers running through him. His mind was still buzzing but his body was too exhausted to stay awake.

Swiping his phone-screen he went to set an alarm when he saw the unread message with Eren's name bright in the darkness. Opening the message his mouth tweaked into a soft smile.

(21:58) _I'm heading to bed early tonight. Hope you're having fun with Issy and Farlan! I …Hope you have a good rest :)_

Levi's fingers hovered over the keys, the temptation to text back was overwhelming. Instead, he curled his fingers around his phone and tucked it under the edge of his pillow.

' _Not long now,_ ' he thought as he closed his eyes. ' _In twelve odd hours, you'll see him. Let's just hope he turns up._ '

~0~

 **Tuesday AM**

.

.

Levi's alarm went off at 6:30AM.

Despite the cotton-wool feeling in his head and the rawness of his eyes, he forced himself to sit up in bed, the room still dark with the bleak blush of dawn bleeding into the sky. With a rough groan, he stumbled to his feet and made his way to the bathroom.

He took his time having a boiling hot shower, scrubbing himself raw and making sure he got all of the shampoo and conditioner was out of his hair. By the time he had dried himself he felt a little better. With his hair raked out of his eyes, he bundled himself in his dressing gown and went about the rest of his morning routine before heading to the bedroom to get dressed.

His phone buzzed in his pocket but he ignored it as he slipped the shirt on over his shoulders and smoothed the pristine fabric down over his muscles.

Being so tired helped in not freaking out.

As he was leaning against the kitchen counter, coffee mug pressed against his lips, he scrolled through the few messages his friends had sent;

.

.

Hange: Good luck Leviiiiii! Mike and I are eagerly awaiting updates! ;)

Issy: **_Don't be nervous sweetie. Just go and have fun! Keep us up to date if you can xx_**

Farlan: **If you have a panic attack just remember … YOU'RE THE ADULT!**

.

.

Levil rolled his eyes at all the messages, deciding to ignore them. No good would come of answering those morons. If he did, he'd end up being more focused on replying to the text-chains instead of catching sight of Eren for the first time.

By 8:15AM he was out of his flat and on his way to the train station.

The train was on time and Levi took it as a good omen.

He wasn't really a superstitious man, however even he had his rare moments of belief. Being in the army did that to you. You couldn't survive what he'd survived and not at least believe in miracles.

As the train chugged along, Levi stared out of the window. He tried not to show any outward signs of nervousness but he did find himself tugging on the sleeves of his coat. It had been a little chillier that morning, so he'd grabbed his military-styled black jacket from the back of his cupboard and thrown it on over his blazer. Despite his stature, Issy often told him that he gave off a very intimidating vibe.

He hoped he didn't intimidate Eren.

All too soon he was coming into London.

His stomach knotted as he got off the train and went down into the tube station. He was so close. He felt rigid like a statue as he waited for his stop to come. Weaving his way through the crowd of tightly packed people. It was hot and suffocating as he all-but-shoved his way onto the escalator, shooting death glares at _anyone_ who dared to tut at him disapprovingly.

He really didn't like people.

Straightening his jacket and smoothing his fingers through his hair, he looked around at his surroundings. He was in a spacious dirty-white building, with large black screens with orange words and numbers flickering. His jaw tightened and he glanced at the large clock.

10:55AM.

His heart was suddenly in his throat. He clenched his fingers in and out of fists as he made his way towards the exit. He felt twitchy, his mouth salivating for a cigarette.

' _No_ ,' he chastised himself. ' _I can't stink of smoke. Not now._ '

Going down the cobblestone drive, he leaned back against the wrought iron gates and stared out across the street. The street was already filling with people walking to and fro, cars and black cabs clogging the streets like a blocked pipe. Levi wrinkled his nose in distaste. He'd never liked the idea of living central to any city.

It was just filth upon dirt upon people upon filth.

It nauseated him.

' _Keep calm_ ,' he warned himself. ' _You're freaking yourself out_.'

It was true. His OCD always went off when he was out of his comfort zone. It made him scrutinize every speck of dirt on the floor or the places he brushed against, the foul air that people breathed against him as they walked by.

His skin itched as though it wanted to crawl off his skeleton.

His phone started buzzing, jolting him out of his obsessive musings. Frowning he dug his mobile out and froze at the name on the screen.

 _Eren._

Swiping the green button, he raised the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

" _Hey Levi_ ," Eren's voice sounded strained and anxious to his ears. Every fear that he'd anticipated suddenly resurfaced to the forefront of his mind. " _I'm –uh –I'm just in the entrance of the station_."

"Oh. Right."

" _I –I think I see you?_ "

"You think?"

Sweat exploded across the back of his neck as the words sank into his brain. Could Eren see him?

" _I think so,"_ the kid hedged. " _Turn around?_ "

Levi did as he was instructed, his heart drumming in his ears. He jaw was clenched as he scanned the people milling around for some sign of Eren. Pinching his lips together, his eyes caught on a tall man with a mess of brown hair and a thick brown coat pulled high around his chin. He was lithe but didn't appear to look wiry, even under the jeans, coat and boot combination. The man had … his phone up to his ear.

Levi's eyes widened as the man grinned nervously at him and pressed something on his phone. The dial tone rang in Levi's ear before he, too, lowered his phone. His gaze was still locked on the man crossing the taxi-bay towards him.

' _Holy shit,_ ' he thought.

Eren was _hot_.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains sensitive imagery.**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

~0~

Levi felt his mouth hang open a little as he uselessly ended the call and let his arm drop to his side.

Eren towered over him, his cheeks and nose tinged pink with the drop in temperature. His brain couldn't comprehend what his eyes were seeing. _This_ was the guy he'd been texting for the last two months? He was much taller than Levi had anticipated, but he carried himself well. The kid's eyes were running over Levi, up and down, taking everything about him in; from his polished black boots to his military styled coat and his upper-cut.

His bright green eyes sparkled in stunned amusement. Eren pocketed his own phone, his leg already bouncing a little as their situation finally caught up with them. He ran a hand nervously through his already-mussed hair and gave Levi an awkward smile.

Levi, as usual, was the first to break the silence.

"You never told me you were a goddamn giant!"

' _Smooth, Levi. Smooth_.'

He inwardly cursed himself as he pressed his mouth into a thin line.

To his surprise, and relief, Eren tipped his head back and laughed. It was a bright, loud sound. "Well you never told me how tall you were so I'm gonna blame this one on you."

Levi stiffened, his cheeks flushing a little. He tried to loosen his fists. They stared at one another for a few moments before Eren snapped out of the daze he'd fallen into. Levi watched as the taller man shook his head and cast his eyes around.

Eren reached out with his hand and tweaked at Levi's sleeve. The older man's eyebrows rose in bemusement. "You're really real," the kid said. "I mean –of course you're real! I just –I was sort of half-expecting this to be some sort of joke."

"Joke?"

"Well yeah!" He bit his lip. "I was just –worried I guess that you were going to bail last minute."

Furrowing his brow, Levi straightened himself to his full height, which still only brought him up to Eren's shoulders. "I'm not that sort of person, brat."

Eren's face split into a grin. "Do you want to get a cup of coffee or something?" he asked.

Levi wrinkled his nose. "I only drink that when I'm hung over."

Eren cocked an eyebrow and grinned. "You can get tea if you like?"

Levi fidgeted on the spot before his schooled his features. "So … My height doesn't bother you?"

Eren bent down a little so he could lean closer. Usually this would have pissed Levi off, but with Eren it seemed different. It made him catch his breath as the kid's cologne drifted on the breeze. "Between you and me," Eren murmured. "I'm sort of _into_ the height thing."

Levi felt his eyes go wide. "Are you sure?"

Why was he so nervous? Usually he was the epitome of cool confidence. Eren was … screwing with his defences. That blinding smile reappeared and Levi felt his insides squirm.

"Sure. Tea and coffee sounds good."

~0~

With their drinks ordered they walked towards a booth and settled down inside the café. They shucked off their coats and scarves before sitting down. The cosy light made it easier for Levi to relax. Still his gaze was focused on the tabletop and his hands folded neatly in front of him. Eren seemed awkward. He rubbed his hands on his thighs and proceeded to break one of his cookies into crumbs.

"Why do you drink your tea like that?" he asked out of the blue.

Levi looked up, startled, before looking down at his hand. He was holding his mug as he always did; by the rim. He never used the handle. "Oh … uh … It's just how I've always done it."

Eren gave a half-smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be this hard to think of things to say."

A weight shifted off Levi's shoulders. "I know. I'm sorry. All I keep thinking is that something is going to go wrong."

"You're not allowed to be nervous," Eren quipped.

"Oh? Why not?"

"No one as hot as you can be _nervous_."

Levi felt his mouth open a little in surprise. "What exactly about me do you find attractive, kid?"

"You have attractive features, I know you're intelligent and you have this sort of swagger about you."

Levi let out a low chuckle. "I have no swagger, kid."

"I'm digging the glasses though," Eren stated with a grin. "I'm –uh –kindda glad you wore them."

"Why?"

"It completes your whole ' _sexy teacher'_ vibe."

Levi allowed himself to smile a little wider. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arm over his chest. "So. Neither of us have run away yet. Can I assume we'll be spending a bit more quality time together?"

"Are you kidding?" Eren beamed. "I'm not letting you go anywhere! I've waited long enough. I barely slept all last night because I couldn't wait for this moment."

Inside, Levi felt his stomach twist and his heart jolt. Eren –this beautiful, tall, quirky guy –wanted to spend time with him? He was unused to anyone outside of his circle of friends to _want_ to be around him. It would definitely take some getting used to.

Something nudged his knee.

Glancing down, the older man saw that Eren's leg was jiggling again. Smirking, he peered over his glasses at the brunette. "You're still nervous aren't you?"

Eren flushed and glanced away. "Sorry. We never exchanged pictures so … I'm just taking it all in."

Reaching across the table, Levi surprised them both my placing his hand over Eren's and giving a squeeze. "Well, the worst of this day is over. We can calm the fuck down and enjoy spending the day together."

Eren watched as the shorter man stood up, brushed lint of his trousers and swung his coat on. With a flick of his inky-black hair, Levi nodded towards the door. "Come on, kid. Time for you to show me London."

"Oh –er –right!" Eren downed the last of his coffee –probably unwarranted considering how hyped the kid seemed –before following Levi through the café and out onto the street.

Levi caught himself sneaking glances up at Eren as they walked side-by-side. He was tall and had a strong jaw, his skin was a soft tan colour, probably fading from long summer days basking in the sun. His hair was drifting in the breeze and Levi's fingers twitched desperately to touch it.

' _You're just meeting as friends_ ,' Farlan's words echoed in his head.

Still, whenever their hands accidentally brushed against one another he couldn't deny the flush that tickled the nape of his neck.

"So where are you taking me?" Levi asked after they had been walking for ten minutes and crossing over a bridge.

"Just a place a friend recommended. They claim it's a great place," Eren shrugged before looking up. "Oh, here we are!"

Glancing up past the brunette's head, Levi frowned a little. The **SEA LIFE** aquarium was large, with a low-lit entrance. Eren tugged gently on his sleeve and he felt himself stepping over the threshold. Families, school trips and other groups of young adults milled around. Levi suddenly felt uncomfortable as the heat crept in through his coat. At the desk, they handed in their coats as Eren flashed something on his phone.

Two tickets were passed over the desk.

Eren thanked the woman before handing one of the passes for Levi. The shorter man accepted the ticket and gave a wry smirk. "You pre-booked the tickets?"

"I managed to snag them last night."

Normally he would have swatted someone around the head, but Levi didn't want to cuff Eren. Not yet anyway. Instead he chuckled and shook his head, secretly pleased that they weren't going to walk aimlessly around London.

Passing through a low-lit hallway, they were stopped in a mock-up of a green room.

"Do you want your picture taken for a souvenir?" the guy asked, his thick mop of hair falling in front of his glasses.

"I don't think we –"

"Yes! We would." Eren cut across, before looking sheepishly down at Levi. "I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to I just thought –"

"Brat, you're rambling," Levi stated. Turning his attention to the photographer he nodded. "Go on then. Take a picture."

Eren snickered behind him. Levi glowered a little, ignoring the way people were queuing up in the corner of his eye. Before the flash went off, two arms wound around Levi's shoulders and something warm rested against his head. He grunted a little and rubbed at his eyes before a tug on his arm moved them aside.

"Here's your ticket. You can pick the photos up at the exit," the photographer droned on.

Levi wrinkled his nose in distaste before letting Eren pull him along down the blue-lit corridor.

~0~

Most of the rooms they walked through would have been bathed in total darkness, if it hadn't been for the deep, blue-lit fish tanks. Levi knew he should have been observing the fish and sharks that swam around –especially in the submerged underwater tunnels were you would watch the fish gliding over your own head –but he kept finding himself drawn to watching Eren.

The kid was in awe over almost everything.

His eyes were wide and lit up as a shark floated alongside the tunnel, so close that you could see the scales near its eye. Eren was like a child in a sugar-factory, however Levi found his curiousity endearing. Plus he, himself, did enjoy reading the placards and learning about strange and exotic fish that had been caught in various tropical regions.

Stepping into a large, cavernous room that had been decorated to look like a coral reef, Levi and Eren look a seat on the steps leading up to the oceanic tank. Kids skittered through, shouting in amazement as their parents settled down to rest for a few minutes. Levi watched as they ran up to the glass, their mouths hanging open wide as they watched the large fish swim idly around through the brightly coloured tank.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Eren asked, his attention finally drawn away from the fish.

Levi rose his eyesbrows at the anxious tone in the younger man's voice, but smiled nonetheless. "I was wary at first, but yes. I'm really enjoying myself." He frowned for a moment, "Why do you ask?"

"I guess you're harder to read than I thought," Eren shrugged, his face still downcast. "I was worried that this was too childish for you."

Levi chuckled and stroked a hand over Eren's shoulder. He have a gentle squeeze. "This has been fun. I like learning knew things, and I've never really paid much attention to aquatic life. You don't need to worry. I was just happy to spend the day with you."

Eren turned to him with a timid smile. "So … I did okay?"

"Yes, kid, you did okay."

Eren let his shoulders relax. It was like his insides had finally unwound and relaxed. He hadn't realised how anxious he'd been the entire time. He'd watched the shorter man reading the placards intently. He'd chewed on his lip as Levi's deadpan expression drank in the bright blue tanks, the large fish and sharks swarming around their tanks, including the open sting-ray nursery tank.

He had been anxious as Levi crouched down and leaned close to the glass, watching as the sting-rays drifted through the clear water.

Levi nudged his leg.

Eren looked up, his eyebrows raised, as he watched the older man smirk down at him from his higher ledge. Those glasses really did look good on him. He bit his tongue to stop himself from blurting out something stupid and cheesy. Armin told him it was one of his many flaws when getting to know people. Eren wanted Levi to see the real him but he didn't want to appear too immature or dumb to the older man.

"Should we make a move?" Levi asked, glancing briefly at his watch. They'd been in the aquarium for just over two hours. The time had flown by.

"We can try but we might get mobbed by all those kids," Eren grinned.

Levi grunted quietly before standing up and dusting his trousers down. Eren followed suit. They wore their way throughout, following the exit signs and passing by the small 'touch-tank'. Eren had convinced Levi to hold a starfish and he had nearly wet himself at Levi's expression.

Entering the gift-shop, Eren made a bee-line for the counter to see their photo from earlier whilst Levi was left to sweep his gaze over the aisles filled with bric-a-brac swarming with children. He sneered a little but kept to the quieter sections of the shop, his feet guiding him over towards the little plush sea creatures.

Would it be too presumptuous to get something for Eren?

Was he over-thinking the importance of a stuffed dolphin?

Studying to pass his teaching exams didn't seem nearly as hard in comparison to choosing a plushie.

Eventually, he settled on grabbing a small, soft sting-ray. He managed to have it paid and bagged-up before Eren caught up with him, waving the plastic wallet with their photos inside.

"Jeez how many did you get?" Levi frowned, adjusting his glasses as he flipped through the numerous prints in various sizes.

"Well, I thought that you might want some too. They were also able to put the photo in a magnet."

Levi cocked an eyebrow. "You are _far_ too excited for magnets."

Eren shrugged and slipped the folder back into its bag. "Okay I'm starved! Do you want to go for something to eat?" Levi's gut grumbled in response and Eren chuckled. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"Did you have anywhere in mind?" the older man asked as they stepped out into the overcast daylight.

"You can pick if you like," Eren offered, coming to a stop off to the side. Together, they leaned side-by-side on the railing overlooking the Thames. "Since I brought you to the aquarium."

"Give me a moment and I'll see what's around here," Levi said, whipping out his phone. Scrolling through the available links on his phone, he finally found a couple of viable places. Leaning over, he let Eren look at the screen. "See anything there you like?"

Eren pushed through the options with his finger, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. Levi watched him, perhaps a little too intently. The kid caught him staring and winked at him. _Winked!_

"This places looks good enough," Eren finally said.

Levi nodded. "And –it's only a fifteen minute walk away."

"Let's go!"

~0~

The Chinese restaurant was filled with the usual décor with torrent of red and gold embroided wall hangings and slat blinds helping to hide the bland street just beyond the windows. The low lights and rich aromas mingled in the air and made Eren's stomach growl loudly as they were seated. The waistress who seated them, slid two menus onto the table and took their drink order before prompty strutting off towards the kitchen.

"Well that was quick," Levi remarked drily as he slithered out of his jacket and gently combed his fingers through his hair.

Eren bit his lip and followed suit. It was fairly warm in the restaurant. He took the photos back out and placed them on the tabletop. Leaning on his hand, he stared down at the largest print and smiled sweetly. "I'm definitely going to get this framed," he said.

"Won't that alert your parents to my existence?" Levi quipped.

"To be honest you don't even look thirty-four."

"Are you telling me you would lie to your parents about my age?"

"I guess not," Eren mumbled. "It's just been such a great day so far and I want to remember it."

"You always have the magnet."

"True but it's so small!" the brunette moaned. "I have to squint to see your grumpy face."

"I wasn't grumpy," Levi protested.

"I'm saying that's how you _looked_ ," Eren grinned. "It's okay, though. I think it's cute."

Levi peered up at him over the rim of his glasses and smiled. "You're lucky you're pretty handsome otherwise I'd swat the crap out of you."

"I have a newfound sympathy for your poor friends."

"They deserve it," Levi stated.

"Oh, I don't doubt that! At least Mika and Armin don't harass me for information."

"Whereas in my case, I already have thirteen messages. Ten are from Hange."

Eren laughed. He looked so beautiful when he laughed. "Wow I don't know if I'd be able to handle her."

"Count your blessings that may not happen for a while."

"Ashamed of me?" Eren asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Levi rolled his eyes. This time he did swat Eren upside the head. "Quiet, brat. You don't _want_ to meet that lot. They'd devour you like a pack of wolves."

"I would honestly go through all of them if it meant I got to have some candid photos of you."

"And with that, you've just shot yourself in the foot at _ever_ meeting my friends or coming to my place."

Eren's mouth dropped open as he spluttered. "What? No! I was kidding!"

"You weren't," Levi deadpanned, leaning over the table on crossed arms. "But it's okay. I know how to threaten my friends."

"Don't you mean handle them?"

Levi blinked up at the brunette. "That's what I said."

Their food came quickly. Eren was grateful the plates had come with regular cutlery, although Levi went straight for the chopsticks in the paper wrapping. Eren watched, fork aloft, as Levi snapped the chopsticks apart, rubbed them together and swiftly started mixing his food together. As he was raising the chopsticks to his lips, he paused when he felt the weight of Eren's gaze on him.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm just –don't really know many people who bother with chopsticks."

Levi let his mouth form a smirk. "You'd be surprised at what I can do with _sticks_."

Eren choked a little. "Wow that was so awful but … fuck!" Levi had to bite back a smile as Eren drank some Sprite and cleared his throat. Once relaxed, Eren cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, _Levi_ … Now that I know you're not an eighty-year-old lesbian, can you tell me something more about yourself?"

"You can ask me whatever you like, kid."

"Well, what's your last name?"

"Ackerman."

Eren furrowed his brows. "Levi Ackerman?"

The older man nodded. "And you are …?"

"Eren Jaeger."

"Wow. Very German."

"I did say I was!" Eren grinned. "So what made you want to go into teaching?"

"Honestly?" Eren nodded, encouraging the older man to continue. "Well, it first crossed my mind when I was in recovery from being shot. Between the initial trauma therapy and physiotherapy, I had a lot of time to think.

"I decided that I was done doing what everyone else told me to do. I'd had enough of it. Doing what other people had wanted me to do had landed me in a hospital after getting shot three times. It hadn't done me any favours. So, when my therapist came in after the third month of recovery and asked where I wanted to go from there, I told her I had no idea. She encouraged me to think of myself as a role-model. It took me a while to get what she meant. To little kids I was like a super-hero, but to anyone older than nine, I was an actual hero. It freaked me out."

"I can imagine that," Eren murmured after a moment. "Obviously I don't know what you went through but I can only imagine how alien that must have felt to you."

"It did," Levi agreed. "I was suddenly a role-model for something inane that hundreds of men were still going through. That hundred's of men are still _dying_ through. It didn't feel as though I'd earned it."

"And teaching did?"

"Of course. Every kid had that one teacher that's tough and encourages them to push themselves. I knew how to do that, so I figured doing it for young kids was the only beneficial thing I could do as a career."

Eren felt his heart swell. He could see in the older man's grey eyes that he was passionate about his job. He believed in his cause and he truly wanted to aid young minds to be the best they could be. There had only been two teachers in Eren's life that had left any good imprints on his mind. If Levi could be that to even a quarter of his students, then not all hope was lost for the younger generations.

"What about you?" Levi asked.

"Huh?"

"What do think you want to do as a career?"

"Honestly? I don't have a definitive career-set in mind."

"Even in your last year of Uni?"

Eren flushed and ducked his head. "I know it sounds really shitty but …it's hard to find a specific job that would suit me."

Levi gave a sympathetic look. "It's okay. I never thought I'd go into teaching. It took me a while to land on my feet after the fact, so it's not the worst thing in the world if you don't know what you want to do right this second."

"Mikasa knows though," the young man groaned, raking a hand through his hair. "She's got her whole life planned out."

"Some people are like that," Levi stated. "My commanding officer had always loved the military, his family had been military for generations."

Eren bit his lip and looked grateful over at the older man. "I … Wanted to ask a follow-up question but … I don't really want you to swat me again."

"Go ahead."

"Are you sure? It's sort of … personal."

"It's fine, Eren."

"I just don't want you to –"

" _Eren_ ," Levi cut across him, a stern look in his eyes. "Just ask your question."

The young brunette frowned before looking down at his half-eaten meal. He fiddled with his fork, his expression betraying just how anxious he felt. Levi felt a little guilty for sounding so harsh before he set his chopsticks to one side and reached out to wrap his fingers around Eren's forearm. He was warm and tense.

"Sorry, I don't mean to come off as harsh," he said softly. "It's usually how I keep people at arms length."

Eren shook his head and feinged a smile. "It's okay. I just –don't want to trigger an even harsher reaction that's all."

Levi didn't remove his hand. In fact, he brought it into the middle of the table and squeezed Eren's hand without breaking eye-contact. "Ask."

Swallowing thickly, the young man focused on the gorgeous teacher in front of him _holding his hand_. It was momentarily mind-blowing. His stomach flipped as he squeezed back a little. "I just … wanted to ask you," he drew in a deep breath and averted his gaze. "What was it like? Getting shot at?"

Levi felt a muscle in his jaw tick.

For a moment, Eren worried that he had over-stepped the line.

Squeezing Eren's hand tighter, Levi maintained eye-contact. Without flinching he spoke; "It was the single most horrifying moment of my life. It hurts of course it does, but it's almost like the pain is dull –happening to someone else. Then your body succumbs to shock. I tried to stay focused on what was happening but obviously blood-loss makes that hard."

"Oh God …" Eren breathed, his eyes wide.

"However, without going into shock all that's left behind is the pain. It's overwhelming, unbearable. It's like being burned from the inside and crushed from the outside. However, finding a place for cover, to keep myself alive to get to my squad was all that kept me going."

Eren didn't realise he'd been holding his breath until he choked. "I can't imagine how that feels."

"It's a hole ripped right through you. In my case, three. Massive internal bleeding. I've never had to control pain before that moment and I've tried to remain in control ever since."

Before he could say anything else, Eren had gotten out of his seat and settled down next to Levi. Before the older man could question what was happening, he found himself enveloped in the younger man's arms. He stiffened; Eren's chest was warm and solid, his arms firm and comfortable as he gently stroked Levi's back. It took a while for the older man to relax into the touch, but once he did it was almost too easy.

"Eren …" he breathed.

"Sorry," the kid pulled back, concern swimming in those bright green eyes. "I just –the thought of you going through that, so far from your family, alone and bleeding-out … that's the most heartbreaking thing I've ever heard!"

"It's okay, brat," Levi said. "I survived."

Eren looked down at him with an expression that stunned the older man. It was serious and concerned all at the same time. "You're an amazing man, Levi. Never doubt yourself for a moment, okay?"

"Listen kid –"

"No," Eren cut across him firmly. "Most people suffer unbelievable trauma from one gunshot wound. You took three and kept fighting. You're on a whole other level of amazing."

Levi pressed his lips together and let Eren hold him for a few moments. However, he began to touch upon his OCD and he wriggled out of the embrace a little to indicate for the brat to stop. "You're kind, Eren," was all he managed to say.

Eren's shoulders slumped. "Shit. I'm sorry. I knew it was too personal to ask. I should've kept my mouth shut."

"I like that you don't," Levi insisted. "Most people skirt around difficult subjects. I admire that you don't."

Eren frowned before exhaling heavily. "Lighter topic?"

Levi smirked, "Yeah. Lighter topic."

~0~

They talked for another hour to the point that their food got cold and they tried to wolf as much as it down in one-go so that they didn't come off as snobby to the waitress. Levi insisted on paying and then they bundled up in their coats and went outside. The sky was already darkening as they made their way down the street, hands in their pockets.

There didn't really seem to be any planned destination but Levi was more than happy to walk under the bright lights. They finally paused alongside the Thames. Somehow they'd found their way back to the ribbon of shimmery black water. They leaned against the railing, Eren actually having to stoop lower to rest against.

Their breath rose before them in the crisp air.

"This is so surreal," Eren finally said in a loud exhale.

Levi nodded in agreement.

"I mean, just two months ago I had no idea who you were. Just that I was mortified in texting a wrong number all Christmas day."

Levi huffed a small smile, the memories washing through his head. It had been a pleasant surprise that day. Even more pleasant considering that Eren had text him _again_ to rekindle their intriguing discussions.

"So …" the kid hedged. He was rather adorable when he was nervous. "Where exactly do we go from here?"

"Well I'd imagine your parents will expect you home at some point," Levi deadpanned.

Eren looked up at him but when he saw the teasing smirk on the older man's lips, he smiled too. "I'm also twenty. I have my own key."

"Such a grown-up."

"Levi-i-i!"

"Dear God don't do that," he wrinkled his nose. "You really do sound like Hange sometimes. It's unnerving."

"Sorry." Eren flushed and ducked his head, his mess of brown hair falling into his eyes. Levi's fingers twitched to stroke the hair away, but he refrained. "I more meant –like –Am I still allowed to text you?"

"Of course," Levi shrugged. "It's a free country."

"But would you _like_ me to text you?"

"You need to be more articulate, kid."

Yes, he was being an arsehole. He'd never claimed to be perfect, and baiting Eren so shamelessly was one of the things Issy had warned him not to do but –he couldn't resist. The brat was just too adorable. He had the most expressive face and clear, green eyes that it came together in one effortlessly beautiful picture and just stole Levi's breath away.

His teasing was a way to ground himself.

"Fine!" Eren straightened up to his full height. He grasped Levi by the shoulders and turned him so that they were face-to-face. Levi sort of hated that he had to look up at Eren, but he sort of liked it too. "Levi, I would love to keep texting you. I don't want that to change."

The witty comment was on the tip of his tongue.

He swallowed it down.

Instead, he smirked up at Eren and placed his hands over the brunettes. "Then text me, kid. I don't want it to change either," he added as an afterthought.

It would have been so easy to kiss him in that moment.

Levi was suddenly filled with a weightlessness he couldn't remember having felt before. The only thing pinning him to earth were Eren's hands on his shoulders. Those wide, green eyes were vibrant, almost dancing with anticipation.

Levi's ringtone blared through the quiet, shattering the moment.

"Fuck!" he hissed, digging the offending object out of his back pocket and answering the call. "What the _hell_ do you want?" he snapped.

Eren's eyes went comically wide as he tried to suppress his laughter.

"Fine. There's a spare key on top of the frame." Levi clenched his phone tighter. "Yeah, bye."

Eren finally let his laughter out. "Oh wow! You were not kidding about being a dick to your friends!"

"When they do dumb shit like interrupting me on days like this, they deserve every ounce of abuse I dole out."

"Clearly," Eren grinned. "I hope I never piss you off _that_ much."

Levi pocketed his phone and sighed. His rhythm had been jolted and it unsettled him. It shouldn't, but it was one of those ripple effects from the army. He'd calm down eventually.

"You –don't need to get home, do you?" Eren hedged, shifting awkwardly on the spot.

Shaking his head, Levi leaned against the railing again. "No. Issy just locked herself out."

"What about her boyfriend? What was his name?"

"Farlan," Levi said. "He's working late."

"Are you okay? You seem a little rattled."

"I'll be okay, kid," he insisted. A frigid wind rushed over the Thames, making ice pool in the pit of his stomach. He flexed his fingers. "Maybe we should be heading back. It wouldn't do to get ill now."

"I suppose not," Eren hummed in agreement, though his voice was tinged with sadness. Levi tried not to read too much into it. It had been a good day. There was no need to focus on the negatives. "There's a train station just ten minutes this way," Eren pointed. "It should get us back to Charing Cross."

"Lead the way, kid."

They walked in silence, their arms bumping against once another as they walked. Levi delighted in the warmth whenever he touched against Eren or vice versa. It was nice. Charing Cross was teeming with people which was never a surprise. Scanning the boards, Levi saw that he had a fifteen minute wait for his train. Following Eren through the crowd, they came to a stop a few meters away from the barriers that led to the platform.

Drawing in a deep breath Levi turned to the younger man.

"Eren –" Wow even the name sounded strange out loud from his own voice. "I had a wonderful time today."

Green eyes lit up.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, one hundred percent," Levi smirked. "It's easy considering how adorable you are when you're nervous."

Eren's cheeks flushed pink as he dropped his gaze away and mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?" Levi probed.

"I said you're pretty incredible yourself."

Levi felt his body flush but tried to keep his face neutral. He wanted to 'correct' Eren's perception however he felt that –for once –he could just accept the compliment. For Eren.

"So I'm still allowed to text you right?" Eren asked, his hands in his pockets. Levi watched the fabric twitch. He probably had a fidget-spinner in his pocket.

"I hope that you would," Levi stated.

"Good."

"Good."

Eren bit his lip. "Fuck, why is it so awkward to talk to you? I've just spent the whole day with you?"

"Maybe because we're out in public?" the older man suggested. "We can only do so much that is publically appropriate."

Eren's cheeks blushed bright pink. Levi finally caught the implication of his own words and wanted to smack himself. Eren chuckled and his eyes sparkled. "Maybe next time we go out it can end somewhere a little more … private?"

Levi cocked a sleek, black eyebrow. "Brave now, are we, kid?"

"You bring out my brave side, clearly."

"Or you're just too damn cocky for your own good."

Eren smirked mischieviously. Levi was about to chew him out for being filthy-minded, but his eyes caught the large digital clock overhead.

"Shit," he sighed. "Looks like my train leaves soon."

"You'd best get going."

"Yeah." He paused for a moment before ignoring the pressure in his chest and pressing a chaste kiss to Eren's cheek. "See you soon, brat."

On the other side of the barrier he glanced over his shoulder and watched just as Eren's hand fell away from his cheek, a stupidly broad grin breaking out over his face. Levi jogged the last few feet to the train, climbed in and tried to keep his breathing under control as he found a vacant seat and settled down. His heart summersaulted in his chest and his mind was spinning.

Within moments, the train was pulling out of the station.

~0~

Opening his front door he was greeted with bright lights and the sound of the TV in the living room.

' _Oh right_ ,' he thought bitterly. ' _Issy's here_.'

Taking his shoes off at the door, he folded his coat into the cupboard and padded through to the lounge. Bundled up on one side of the sofa under a thick blanket and with a bowl of popcorn in her lap was Issy. When she saw Levi, she grinned and patted the seat beside her. He glowered at her but draped the blanket over his lap regardless.

She turned the TV down a little.

"So?" she prodded his arm. "How was the date?"

"It wasn't a date."

"Okay so how was your non-date?"

He threw a glare at her but there was no heat behind it. "It was good. We had a few awkward moments but on the whole, it was a good day."

"Only good?"

"Well how good are first meetings anyway? We're still getting to know one another."

"So … You're taking it slow?" she hedged, popcorn halfway to her mouth.

"I suppose," he shrugged. "There's not much to tell. At the very least I didn't waste my time today, which is the top three things I'm glad about."

"So what does he look like?" Issy asked.

Levi was about to describe Eren when he realised he didn't really need to. Out of his back pocket, he drew out one of the magnets from the aquarium. It was small, but under the bright lights it was clear enough. He passed it to Issy in exchange for the bowl of popcorn.

"Oh wow!" Issy exclaimed. "He's cute!"

"Yes, he's very cute."

"And tall!"

"Half-giant, yes. I just about reach his shoulders."

"That may very well be the perfect height," she snickered.

"Hey now," he warned. "I let you into my house and make popcorn of all things. Do not make me kick you out."

"Okay, okay!" she giggled. "I promise I'll behave."

"Good. Now, what trash are you watching on my Netflix?"

Later that night, after Farlan came home and Isabel bade him goodnight, Levi was lying in bed and reading when his phone buzzed. It was from Eren.

.

(23:12) _I still can't believe I got to meet you today. It's so maddening! Can't believe I had to wait nine weeks to meet you._

(23:19) _Would totally go through it all again. I'm enjoying getting to know you … x_

.

Levi allowed himself to smile at the little 'x' at the end. Damn, he really _was_ becoming smitten. He stroked his thumb over the screen just as another message popped through. It was a photo-message. As soon as Levi opened it up his heart soared.

It was their souvenir from the aquarium.

It didn't sink in until a minute later that Eren had probably walked around his house for the brightest light in order to take a decent photo of their souvenir. Warmth bubbled inside him. He smiled as he tapped out a reply, his eyelids already growing heavy.

.

(23:27) **Thanks for the photo, brat. At least now I have a photo of you.**

(23:34) _Your death-glare is adorable. I want to frame it!_

(23:40) **Go to sleep, brat.**

(23:43) _Sweet Dreams Levi!_

(23:49) _P.S. I'm so glad I met you! :D_

(23:52) **I'm glad I met you too.**

* * *

 **A/N: SO HOW DID OUR BOYS DO ON THEIR FIRST DATE? DID YOU LOVE IT? I LOVED IT!**

 **Today is a huge day -hence why I am uploading a story to celebrate -I have just been offered a publishing deal! I know I shouldn't gush as it's in the early stages but I am so thrilled as it's been years striving to get myself noticed and now that time seems to have arrived!**

 **Love to you all! I cannot stop smiling! :D**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains sensitive imagery.**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **Wednesday AM**

.

(10:50) _I'm awake early on a Wednesday. I have nothing to do until 3PM. I can't stop thinking about seeing you yesterday._

(10:58) **It's almost precious that this is 'early' for you.**

(11:02) **I've literally gotten up, gone for a jog, popped over to see Hange for brunch and gone food shopping.**

(11:05) _Urgh I'm exhausted just reading that._

(11:07) **Lazy shit.**

(11:10) _I don't think I could survive being your roommate._

(11:16) **Oh really? Why is that?**

(11:21) _You wake up too early! I'd probably never sleep-in again._

(11:24) **Maybe it'd help you start the day.**

(11:27) _Or you could make me breakfast :D_

(11:32) **I'm not your skivvy, kid. Besides, for waking up so late you'd be on breakfast duty.**

(11:36) _Wow. You're the worst roommate ever._

(11:45) **Looks like I've just shot myself in the foot for you coming over.**

(11:48) _You don't have to sound SO gleeful._

(11:54) **Go on brat. Get up, wash, dress, start your day.**

(11:59) **I'm going out for the day with Issy and Farlan.**

(12:06) _Oh. Where are you off to?_

(12:09) **Jealous?**

(12:15) **We're just going for a picnic, apparently.**

(12:17) _Picnic? You?_

(12:23) **Don't. Just don't.**

(12:28) _You really do let your friends bully you into shit, don't you?_

(12:36) **They say it's the only way I'd see sunlight. Or you know … overcast clouds.**

(12:38) **You know, other than my job.**

(12:40) _Okay well try and have fun being outside and sociable._

(12:42) **No.**

(12:43) _Please?_

(12:44) **No.**

(12:45) _PRETTY please?_

(12:46) **Urgh … No.**

(12:48) _Grumpy git._

.

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

(15:17) _Okay so I know you probably won't get this seeing as none of my other messages didn't go through but I hope you're enjoying that feeble ray of sunshine._

(15:20) _Seriously how can you go outside and have a picnic in this sort of weather. It's cold and grey outside._

(15:26) **It's more like a hike in the woods. Yes I hike. Only when forced to.**

(15:30) _Well you do jog._

(15:37) **Totally different. I do that to curb my insomnia.**

(15:41) **This is meant to be for 'fun'.**

(15:47) _Almost certain I felt the earth quake from here._

(15:49) **Shitty brat.**

.

.

.

.

(17:13) _Okay don't be mad but … Armin came over to study and he got curious about our day out yesterday._

(17:22) _He ended up Googling your name. Not a lot of stuff came up._

(18:02) **Is that so?**

(18:18) _Yeah. Your FB page is like a ghost-town._

(18:23) **I don't really update it much.**

(18:34) _We saw. You have like only 24 photos up._

(18:38) **Isn't that enough? Do you want me to FB stalk you when I get home? See all the embarrassing stuff you probably have up there?**

(18:42) _You know what, it's fine! 24's a great number!_

(18:45) **That's what I thought.**

(18:50) _Although there were a few photos of you tagged from when you were in the army._

(18:58) _Who's that girl next to you? With the red hair?_

(18:58) **That's Petra.**

(19:03) **She died.**

(19:09) _Oh … Levi I'm sorry._

(19:12) _Fuck there I am feeling jealous and … and …_

(19:22) **Eren, it's okay. You didn't know.**

(19:23) _Still, though._

(19:27) **Hmm.**

(19:35) _Were you guys close?_

(19:44) **Yes, we were close. She was on her first tour when I met her. She was a few years younger than me. She was really determined and sweet. You would've liked her.**

(19:49) _She sounds like a nice girl._

(19:53) **She died the same day I got shot.**

(19:56) **Our team came under fire. Eld and Oluo went down within moments. Poor Petra. She was almost home free but they got her. I kept trying to hold them off. Didn't even realise I was alone. All I heard was gunfire and my screaming. The bullet to my chest knocked me down and out.**

(20:01) **I woke up from a medically-induced coma two weeks later.**

(20:04) **With a bullet-hole for each of my fallen family.**

(20:16) _Levi … You didn't need to tell me all that …_

(20:26) _Thank you, though … for trusting me._

(20:31) **Thank you for not being scared away by all this.**

(20:35) _How could I be scared away by this?_

(20:44) **War changes you, Eren. I don't sleep because of those moments. I lost so many people I cared for in the blink of an eye. I'm …**

(20:48) **I'm scared to sleep, Eren.**

(20:52) **If I close my eyes consciously, even for a moment, I could lose everything all over again.**

(20:56) **Even you.**

(21:07) _Levi, you can't lose me._

(21:14) **Best not to tempt the universe, though.**

(21:20) _I'm sorry I brought all this up._

(21:24) **It's always there, kid. It just sinks to the bottom of my mind for a while.**

(21:35) _Levi, can you do something for me?_

(21:37) **What?**

(21:42) _Go and knock on Issy's door. Ask to sleep on their sofa._

(21:46) _I don't think you should be alone tonight._

(21:51) … **Okay.**

.

.

.

.

(22:27) **Here now. Camped-out on their sofa with some tea.**

(22:31) **It would seem I do have good friends.**

(22:36) _Of course you do, dummy :)_

(22:48) **Hey Eren?**

(22:50) **Thanks.**

(22:53) _No worries, Levi :) Try and get some rest._

.

.

 **Thursday PM**

.

(12:00) _Hey sleepyhead how are you feeling? Does your back hurt?_

(12:04) **Like a bitch.**

(12:09) **Sorry about last night. I don't tend to ramble like that.**

(12:12) _Levi, it's okay. I like getting to know more about you._

(12:16) **I'm not so sure that's something you should want. I have a lot of baggage, kid. It's why I don't have many friends and why I've been single for a long time.**

(12:20) _Do you have anything else planned for your week off?_

(12:26) **Not really no. Tempted to have a movie-night by myself. Don't think I'd be much company right now.**

(12:29) _Where are Issy and Farlan?_

(12:30) **Work.**

(12:32) _Hange?_

(12:35) **She's prepping one of the puppies for his new family.**

(12:37) _Ah no! Which one is leaving the pack?_

(12:39) **Sirius. Family with a little girl came by. Loved him instantly.**

(12:42) _Damnit! At least she still has Bilbo and Belle._

(12:47) **True.**

(12:50) **Okay, time for me to get up and migrate back to my own sofa.**

(12:57) _Okay. I'm heading into a lecture. Going to try and behave._

(12:59) _Feel free to text though!_

(13:00) **Behave, brat.**

.

.

.

.

 **Friday AM**

.

(2:47) _When did you first come out to your friends?_

(2:53) **When I was about fifteen, I think.**

(2:58) _Wow … Sorry, you're never normally awake this late._

(3:05) **Can't help it. I'm trying to finish the seventh book by the end of the week.**

(3:06) _Ahh._

(3:10) **Okay, kid, talk to me. What's really on your mind?**

(3:15) _I'm … anxious._

(3:17) **About?**

(3:20) _Mikasa has been insisting that I need to back-off from you._

(3:22) **Oh really? Why?**

(3:26) _She's saying that I don't know you at all. Meeting you doesn't change that._

(3:29) _That you're much older so you could easily take advantage of me and all that bollocks._

(3:41) **Eren, whilst to a degree I do understand where your sister is coming from, you're also old enough to make your own way in the world. She cannot dictate your life.**

(3:44) _I know that. She's always been over-protective._

(3:47) **Don't get me wrong, you're almost as reckless as I was at that age.**

(3:50) _I'm sensing a 'but' …?_

(3:55) **BUT you can't always live by what your family says.**

(3:57) _I just want to be trusted to make my own decisions! Is that really so bad?_

(4:03) **You're allowed your freedom, Eren.**

(4:06) _Tell that to Mika and Armin._

(4:08) _I'm worried that if … If I don't stop talking to you … She's going to rat me out to our parents._

(4:10) **Let me guess; they'd definitely make you stop talking to me?**

(4:13) _Especially since I've already gone to meet you._

(4:16) **What do you want to do about it?**

(4:20) _I don't really know. No option seems viable, really. I just … needed to get it off my chest._

(4:26) _All I know is that, regardless of what anyone says, I don't want to stop talking to you._

(4:30) **Reckless to the point of stupidity.**

(4:36) _No … I think it's something much more dangerous._

(4:37) **Oh?**

.

.

.

.

(4:59) **Goodnight Eren.**

.

.

 **Monday AM**

.

(9:05) _Hey I'm so sorry about last night! Mika just put me in a really bad mood after our skype-call._

(9:16) **It's okay, kid. Feeling better?**

(9:24) _Not really._

(9:28) **Surprised I didn't hear from you all weekend.**

(9:37) _I needed to get out. Went to stay with Armin and his grandfather. They don't have great reception._

(9:52) _This is going to sound really weird but … I can't stop thinking about running away._

(10:00) **Eren, running away from your problems isn't the answer.**

(10:04) **Besides, you're an adult. This wouldn't be 'running away' as it is skipping town. Although I suppose they are one and the same.**

(10:14) _Disappearing, then._

(10:26) **Better but even so. You're an adult. The police wouldn't look too deeply into finding you if they can track your phone and your bank records and know that you're fine, just left home.**

(10:34) **They'll think your parents are just paranoid or something.**

(10:53) _They ARE! You have no idea!_

(11:05) _My dad is always on my case about being healthy and active and all this nonsense, and prattles on when I smell of smoke because 'smoking kills, Eren!'_

(11:08) **Didn't think you smoked.**

(11:18) _I DON'T! THAT'S MY POINT! PEOPLE smoke NEAR me! There's a difference!_

(11:27) **Calm down, brat, I'm not the one judging here!**

(11:32) **I used to smoke like a chimney when I was young. Your dad would grill me on the kerb for that alone.**

(11:43) _My dad isn't as pushy when it comes to adults._

(11:51) **Clearly he cares?**

(11:59) _Too much! If I was going to start smoking, wouldn't I have done it already?_

(12:06) **Late bloomer?**

(12:11) _Hardly. It's been a WEEK since Mika went to Europe and I'm left with the brunt of my parents. It's annoying! I can only volunteer at Karate so many more times before it just gets sad._

(12:17) **Get a gym membership then.**

(12:19) _There's no point._

(12:27) _Sorry, I don't mean to dump this on you when you're teaching._

.

.

.

.

(13:18) **It's okay. I can call you when I leave?**

(14:09) _Okay._

.

.

.

 **.**

 **Monday PM**

.

 ** _[CALLING LEVI]_**

" _Hello?"_

" **So, kid, tell me about your day. What's eating you?** "

" _There's just a lot running through my head and Jean's pissed me off today even more than usual."_

" **What did he do?** "

" _Just Jean being Jean. Taunting me, making virgin jokes and boasting about how many girls he's banged_."

" **So he's a slut. And what?** "

" _It's humiliating!_ "

" **There's nothing wrong with being a virgin, kid. Everyone is one, that's the truth of it. I can almost guarantee you that Jean lost his virginity and only lasted about two minutes**."

" _Regardless, I'm sick of people snickering at me._ "

 **"No offense, kid, but you sound like a teenager again. Who cares if you're a virgin? Losing your virginity doesn't mean squat in the grand scheme of things."**

" _Have you ever watched the INBETWEENERS?_ "

" **Okay, not every virgin is that desperate all through their teen years**. **Besides, just because you've 'banged loads of girls' doesn't mean you're good in bed. It just means the girls are easy."**

" _But_ –"

" **No, Eren. It doesn't matter. You know Hange and Mike didn't have sex until after they were married. They dated for YEARS beforehand."**

" _Wow, really? Why?_ "

" **Mike is a very quiet yet sentimental man. Plus, women always got a bit weirded-out by his sniffing.** "

" _He does drugs?_ "

" **No. He physically sniffs people to get an impression of them**."

" _Um … I don't really know what to say to that_."

" **It's strange I know. Anyway, he never found 'the right girl' and Hange once told me that she didn't think she could ever enjoy sex since she studied medicine and had to deal with a lot of human bodies in various stages of decay and mutilation. It desensitised her to 'humans' in general."**

" _So how does that make them want to fuck?_ "

" **Sex, Eren. Totally different to … ' _fucking'_.**"

" _Not really._ "

" **Incredibly so. Sex is something two people want to do and enjoy one another's bodies. Fucking is something you do to a stranger in the bathroom stall of a public toilet or club.** "

" _Classy_."

" **Anyway, back to the point, they were both happy with waiting but there was a lot of pressure on them for their wedding night. Eventually, they decided to get it over with the night before, to take the pressure off."**

" _And? What happened?_ "

" **They got carried away. Kept having sex whenever they could. Almost missed their own wedding ceremony**."

 _"Oh wow haha! I bet everyone was happy about that!"_

 **"Trust me, no one was happy that I had to drag them down the aisle, both completely rumpled."**

" _Hahaha!_ "

" **Jeez, breathe. It wasn't that funny**."

" _I'm sorry but it really was! Haha._ "

" **Where are you right now?** "

" _Just … sitting in a stairwell. Talking to you_."

" **Isn't it cold?** "

" _Yes. My balls have frozen to the steps._ "

" **You can't avoid going home forever. Just lock yourself in your room and blare some music."**

" _I'm not a teenager!_ "

" **I don't bloody care what you think, Eren. However you cope with being angry, you need to do something to calm your head down**."

" _I told you I don't handle being alone, well!_ "

" **Neither did I.** "

" _Yeah right_."

" **Seriously. I was erratic, angry all the time. Experimented with drugs and made my family miserable.** "

" _How did you cope with it?_ "

" **I … got caught stealing. Hence the warning."**

" _Wow … So, how did you cope if you weren't allowed outside the house?_ "

" **Not well. Typical teenage shit. Smashed stuff up, tantrums, blaring music until 4AM**."

" _That's so mean!_ "

" **I told you, I was a shit."**

" _I'm starting to believe you. So, what eventually calmed you down?_ "

" **I'm not sure it was any one thing, personally. I started up a band**."

 _"Wait … You guys were in a band? All three of you?"_

"… **No.** "

" _Don't lie! You just said you were in one!._ "

" **I'm going to let that slide, seeing as you've had a rough day**."

" _But Levi!_ "

" **How are you feeling?** "

" _Better now that I know you guys were in a band! Are there videos of you on Youtube?_ "

" **I've made a mistake.** "

" _Oh God! I need to get home and look this shit up!_ "

" **Wait Eren –"**

" _Talk to you later Levi!_ "

" **Oi brat don't you –** "

 ** _[CALL DISCONNECTED. DURATION: 1hour, 5minutes and 23 seconds.]_**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Monday PM**

 **.**

(23:01) _Can I ask you a question?_

(23:05) **Are you fucking kidding me? Radio silence all night and NOW you want to talk?**

(23:06) **Piss off.**

(23:09) _Please? It's an educational question._

(23:15) **Go away.**

(23:17) _Levi, please?_

(23:19) _I'm going to ask anyway._

(23:22) _So if the biomolecular structure of an atom is stabilised … Does that mean I can find your band on Youtube?_

(23:26) **Goodbye Eren.**

(23:29) _Levi, I'm just teasing!_

.

.

.

.

(23:38) _Levi?_

.

(23:40) _Come on, you're not really mad at me, are you?_

.

.

.

.

(00:18) _Look I didn't mean to bug you about it, I just get excited finding out new things about you._

.

.

(00:39) _Okay, I get it._

.

(00:41) _I'm sorry._

.

.

.

.

(1:58) _*sigh* Goodnight Levi._

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update it's been ... a rather hard few days. Hopefully this makes up a little bit for my absence. X**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains sensitive imagery.**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 ** _ISABEL IS BOLD AND ITALLICS_**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **Tuesday PM**

 **.**

.

(18:30) Is he still panic-pacing?

(18:34) **_He's wearing a hole through my floor._**

(18:37) That's not good. Try and distract him.

(18:40) **_Jeez, like I haven't tried, woman!_**

(18:43) What even happened? When I asked him he just told me to fuck off and hung-up.

(18:49) **_His phone has gone off a bunch of times but he doesn't reply._**

(18:53) **_It's a little sad, really. Watching someone being actively anti-social._**

(18:59) Let me know if it gets worse and I'll drive up, okay?

(19:03) **_Sure, love, I'll let you know._**

(19:06) Thanks Issy. G2g, the pups need a walk!

(19:09) ** _Say hi from me!_**

.

.

.

.

"How's he doing?"

Isabel looked up from her phone at her boyfriend and shrugged. "He's spiralling pretty hard."

"Have you figured out what he's stressed about?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that he let slip about that band, and now he's terrified that Eren will Google him."

"They've met already, why is that such a bad thing?"

Isabel shrugged again. "You know Levi. He's insane about his privacy."

"So I guess this means we're on watch-duty until he snaps out of it."

"I suppose so."

"Did you text Hange?"

"Yeah, she said she'll drive up if he spirals even more."

Farlan rolled his eyes, "You know that won't take long."

"Sadly, yes, I do know." Isabel sighed before raking a hand through her hair and turning towards the kitchen. "Okay, im going to start on dinner. Take a beer or two in there and bond with your bro."

Farlan grimaced. "He's spiralled for twenty-four hours and now we have to bro-bond again?"

Isabel glared up at the blonde man, but he was used to her aggressive looks. Opening the door of the fridge, Isabel grabbed two bottles and shoved them into Farlan's hands. "Get in there and get him to open up."

"What makes you think I can?" Farlan hissed in a whisper.

"You did it before so I know you can do it again. Now go!"

Farlan gave her one final, pleading look. She shooed him away and the blonde had no choice but to obey her. Isabel watched him go and leaned back against the kitchen counter. She needed Levi drunk otherwise she wouldn't be able to find out what the hell was wrong with him. Even if he wouldn't physically speak, she had her ways to get information. Oh yes, she had her ways.

.

.

.

.

(19:27) **_Hey is this Eren?_**

(19:36) _That depends. What do you want?_

(19:40) **_I don't know if he's told you about me. I'm Levi's friend Isabel._**

(19:47) _How did you get my number?_

(19:52) **_I stole it off his phone._**

(19:57) _Stealing is wrong you know._

(20:06) **_Why do you think we became friends? ;D_**

(20:10) **_Anyways, I just wanted to know what happened between you guys. He's been in a bit of a mood the last day or so._**

(20:16) _Oh … that._

(20:19) _He may have let slip that he was in a band and I may have teased him._

(20:22) **_Ah. That would be it._**

(20:26) _Is he mad at me?_

(20:30) **_I think he's more embarrassed to be honest._**

(20:37) _Embarrassed about what?_

(20:41) _Being in a band is like, every teenagers dream!_

(20:43) _Can I talk to him?_

(20:50) **_No, I think it's best if he has a little down time right now. Hopefully we'll talk some sense into him. Word of advice; try not to tease him over the phone. He … struggles a little with human interaction. It's … a blind-spot for him._**

(20:54) _A blind-spot?_

(20:58) **_In the same way that people can't understand sarcasm, Levi can't always understand other people, especially when they're getting to know him._**

(21:04) _I see? So … What should I do?_

(21:07) **_Just give him some time. We'll talk him round for you._**

(21:10) _You will?_

(21:15) **_Of course, kid!_**

(21:18) _I appreciate it._

(21:23) **_It's okay :) try not to worry about it._**

(21:26) _Easier said than done. But … Thanks._

.

.

 **Wednesday 3:04 AM**

.

Eren stared up at the ceiling and let out a long, low sigh. The lamplight from the street pushed against the curtains, illuminating the furniture in his room. Dark shadows in the dimness. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so lost. It didn't help that Mikasa was away probably having the time of her life in Europe. If he felt in a similar way prior to this year, he would have just crept down the hallway to her room. They would have laid in her bed together, just chatting in low voices, maybe even streamed a movie on Netflix and watched it with earphones until they'd fallen asleep.

Now, however, he didn't have that luxury.

He could text Armin but there was no guarantee that the blonde boy was even awake at this time.

He felt bad for freaking Levi out. He hated that his mouth had no filter –this was why he preferred to text! He had more time to erase stupid mistakes if it came to that. It didn't always work but it did make it easier to censor his idiocy.

' _I've really screwed this up,_ ' he grimaced to himself. ' _Whatever 'this' is_.'

He didn't know where to go from here. He hated leaving things in other peoples hands. It wasn't that he didn't trust Isabel –even though this was the first time they'd spoken properly –but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to make some effort from his side.

He didn't know where to start.

Levi had facebook, sure, but by the looks of things he didn't go on it much.

Turning over onto his side, Eren pulled his phone under the blankets with him and logged onto Facebook. Clicking on Levi's name, he took his time to look through all the available photos and information, letting it sear into his brain.

As a teenager, Levi had been svelte –not scrawny like Eren had been –but he'd always seemed to have some level of muscle. The circles under his eyes weren't as prominent. Eren felt his chest tighten. For some reason, thinking of Levi not being able to sleep was emotionally up-heaving.

Eren could barely function if he didn't sleep well for three nights.

He couldn't imagine doing it for as long as the older man claimed.

Eren couldn't help but wonder if there was some way he could help the older man sleep. It was hard to think, when he'd barely had the issue himself. When his dad had long nights at work, his mum would always brew his some special tea that would help calm him enough to sleep.

Maybe the same would work for Levi?

Readjusting his position, he looked at the one photo of Levi when he was smiling –or as close to a smile as Levi was sure to get; he was sitting astride a beaten up old motorcycle in the sun, shades on his nose with a tall blonde man –Eren assumed it was either Mike or Farlan –astride another bike. Eren looked at the bike and wondered if Levi knew how to fix it. Images of Levi streaked with motor-oil and taking his shirt of flitted through his mind and he dropped his phone, plunging his room into darkness.

Did he … Have a _crush_ on Levi?

Well that much was obvious considering how he acted around the older man, but even so. He was a 'kid' to him, and Eren was fully aware that if Levi hadn't been a relationship in five years, chances were he _didn't_ want to be in one. The thought left Eren's insides feeling heavy and hollow at the same time.

Did it really bother him that much?

So what if he was never 'with' Levi, he'd still have the man as a friend and that was pretty amazing on its own. To be accepted so easily into Levi's small social group was already an impressive feat and it did make Eren feel better about himself. Where so many of his current friends had issues with how he acted at times, or the way he phrased things, Levi seemed to take it all in stride.

' _He's amazing!_ '

It wasn't a new thought to Eren, either. With each passing week, there was another layer of Levi to unfold and admire. He had accomplished so much already and Eren still felt as though he were floundering about, not one hundred percent sure where his life was going.

Reaching down the side of his bed, Eren fumbled blindly until his fingers touched the cold metal of his phone. He touched the screen and grimaced at the time.

3:49AM.

He really should sleep.

Tucked under his duvet covers, he stared at his screensaver –the photo of him and Levi at the aquarium –before falling asleep.

.

.

 **5:28AM**

 **.**

.

Levi leaned against the railing of his balcony, staring out across the skyline. There was a chill in the air. He'd wrapped himself up in a hoodie but he was still only wearing some cotton bottoms, which didn't provide too much warmth. Taking another drag from his cigarette he winced at the sour taste. It never did taste right this early in the morning but he needed something to settle his nerves.

It had been a long evening of sucking beers and listening to Farlan and Issy's advice on how to move-on from his anxiety attack. He hated the term, but that was more or less what they were. Even if they looked like angry bitch-fits to the rest of the world, Farlan and Issy knew him too well to know the signs.

He had panicked.

Bracing himself against another breeze, Levi glared out over at the houses stretched out before him. Barely any lights were on at this time of the morning. The city was silent enough, save for the chirping of birds.

It wasn't peaceful.

It was white-noise.

In his current state that's all anything ever was to him.

Isabel had managed to calm his mind somewhat, although the niggling sensation didn't leave. He toyed with his lip, the cigarette fizzling as he took another drag. At the heart of his problems he knew why he was feeling anxious. He was scared that he was getting too attached to Eren. A part of Levi couldn't help himself –the kid just made everything seem to easy –but at the same time, he was anxious about letting Eren get too close to him.

He hadn't been with another person for over five years.

The last time he _had_ been with someone it had never gotten serious. Not because his lover hadn't wanted to, but because Levi had turned cold at the idea of someone moving into his personal, clean, organized space. In the end, Levi decided that he was never meant to be someone's 'other half'. For the most part it didn't effect him; he liked his life as it was. However there were quiet moments –moments like right then as the sky lightened overhead –where he didn't mind the idea of someone waking up to find his side of the bed to be cold.

Or to come out wondering where he was, bleary-eyed from sleep.

To wrap their arms around him and coax him back to bed.

No –there would always be the quiet moments where he longed for someone to want him.

A dull ache bloomed behind his eyes.

With a groan, he stubbed out his cigarette and flicked the butt over the balcony railing. He needed to get ready for work. At least now that he was up extra early he could take his time getting ready and maybe even have some proper breakfast for a change.

~0~

 **Thursday PM**

.

.

(22:48) **I think we need to talk.**

(22:57) _It's been two weeks._

(22:59) _Why do you think I want to talk to you?_

(23:08) **I need to explain myself. I shouldn't have acted the way I did.**

(23:14) _No. You shouldn't have._

(23:16) _And over the mention of you being in a band, no less._

(23:19) _You realised that I actually thought that was pretty cool, right? I can't wrap my head around your fucking reaction and now you want to talk like it's going to be OKAY?!_

(23:25) **You have every right to be upset with me. I'm upset with myself, for having put you through this.**

(23:29) _FFS Levi you told me about a shit childhood and detention centres and being SHOT –but a band is too much for you to share?!_

(23:32) **That's not why I … behaved the way I did.**

(23:37) _So explain it to me. Why did you act that way?_

(23:41) **I got … nervous that you were getting too attached to me.**

(23:47) _WHY is that SUCH A BAD THING?! FFS Levi I LIKE YOU, okay? Whether you can understand why or not, doesn't matter, I LIKE YOU. You're a good man! You've proven that time and time again! Even if I only have GLIMPSES to go on, get it through your head!_

(23:52) **Eren, I don't get on with people. I don't like people. This is … alien for me.**

(23:54) _WHY?!_

(23:59) **Because I like your company, shitty brat! You make me smile, you're fun to poke fun at, your reactions are fucking adorable and –despite myself –I. LIKE. YOU.**

.

.

 **Friday AM**

(00:13) _Back. Had to make some tea and get my head around the fact that you just openly stated you liked me._

(00:16) **As insufferable and STUPIDLY patient as you are, I know you're also smart if idiotic. Logical yet irrational. Cautious yet reckless. You, Eren, are a paradox to me.**

(00:23) _A paradox, eh?_

(00:25) _Not a bad thought. That's what you thought up while I went downstairs?_

(00:29) **Yes. I can barely understand YOU, Eren. Can you understand how I fail to see why you like me? Why you talk to me?**

(00:32) _I suppose I can understand, to a degree._

(00:36) _I don't understand why a handsome intellect such as yourself is putting up with one extra snotty brat when he literally works with tons every day of the week._

(00:40) **We seem to be as bad as each other.**

(00:43) _Yeah we do._

(00:47) **I am sorry for having been so quiet. I needed to do some thinking and didn't want to burden you.**

(00:51) _I got anxious. And angry._

(00:54) _And may have broken my desk chair._

(00:56) **Sorry.**

(00:59) _So? Are you going to tell me why you freaked?_

(1:04) **I panicked that we were getting too close and I wasn't ready for that.**

(1:07) _Levi … There's nothing wrong with having another friend … is there?_

(1:10) **Technically no. However, I've had many people leave me. Friends and otherwise.**

(1:14) _It feels like you don't trust me._

(1:17) **Over time, perhaps I might.**

(1:20) **I have only met you the one time, Eren. Remember that.**

(1:23) _I do. Doesn't make it any easier to read, though._

(1:27) **Sorry.**

(1:30) _This is what I get for prying, eh?_

(1:34) **Try not to take it personally. These are my hang-ups not yours.**

(1:36) _Easier said than done._

(1:38) **I know.**

(1:40) _I guess I can try._

(1:43) _Anyway, I should probably head to bed._

(1:45) **Same.**

(1:47) _Night Levi._

(1:50) **Goodnight Eren.**

.

.

 **Sunday PM**

.

" _So what did he say after that?_ " Mikasa's voice sounded tinny through his headset but Eren sighed for a completely different reason.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "We just …Sort of stopped talking, said goodnight then went to bed."

" _How do you feel about it?_ "

"I don't know." It was the truth. His thoughts had been a mess for the last two days. "On the one hand –I get it. On the other hand I just feel like it's an excuse."

" _You are nosey, Eren. Even you know that."_

"I'm fully aware," he deadpanned at the webcam. "I also warned him about that."

" _And I warn you every time not to eat peanut butter out of the jar, but you still end up with a dead arm by the end of it."_

"So what? His listening sucks more than mine?"

Mikasa shrugged, although there was a faint smile on her lips. " _Wouldn't surprise me really._ "

"Do you have any real advice oh wondrous traveller?" he quipped.

" _Not really_ ," she cocked her head to the side. " _I guess just try not to think about it, keep texting and see how it goes. If it still feels weird in a week or two try and talk about it again_."

"That's so long!"

" _Good grief, Eren! You've only known this man for two months and you're already pining this hard?_ "

"Oi," he glared at the screen. "Need I remind you how many times you doodled yours and Reiner's names in the back of your notebooks?"

" _Hardly_ ," she grunted. " _I had to throw them out._ "

It was still a sore topic for the both of them. Eren's arm was healing somewhat slower than he'd anticipated but the creams his dad got him were some of the best money could buy.

"Sorry," Eren said. "Foot and mouth disease."

" _I know_ ," she smiled faintly at him. " _I'm used to you, remember? But this Levi isn't. Try and bear that in mind_."

"Heh … He said the same thing."

" _Then I guess the universe is sending you a sign_."

Eren tried to return the smile but his heart wasn't in it. Not really. "Thanks Mika."

" _No worries. I need to shoot off now. I'll call you soon?_ "

"Sure just let me know and I'll make sure I'm free."

" _Cool. Love you_."

"Love you too."

It took a moment before the skype call ended. Eren was left staring at their sparse messaging that had taken place before she'd called him. With a sigh, he logged off of his laptop and made his way over to his bed. The sheets were chilly against his skin as he pressed his thumping head into the cool pillows and tried to relax.

~0~

He was almost glad to have lectures to go to so that he was distracted from his phone for a little while. He replied to Levi between lectures and during the evening whilst doing other things. He tried to make his actual life his main focal point instead of his phone.

Armin joked that Eren acted as though he'd been dumped.

In truth, he wasn't far wrong. It's how Eren felt at least.

Levi's messages had been sporadic as well. Eren read them and couldn't help the little skip his heart did when he saw Levi's name pop up on his screen. He tried to control himself he really did.

They talked about mundane things; the weather, cooking, Eren's lectures, the poor students Levi bothered to give detention to, and what their friends were up to. They were both dancing around large, flashing red question marks and it was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

It was like there was a huge pink elephant in the room.

All he wanted in that moment was for Levi to feel as though he could trust him, even a little. He felt as though he'd undone all of the progress they'd made in the last two months all because he'd gone and teased a man who was no stranger to pushing people away. Eren loathed the idea of so much isolation. He didn't even want Levi to feel that way. There wasn't anything he could do about it though.

Armin often told Eren that he did a lot of over-thinking.

Maybe he was right.

Glancing at his screensaver through the gloom, Eren ran his thumb down the edge of his phone. His feelings, though intense as they always were, were charged with an eager energy to get to know the older man –which had landed him in his current predicament. He bit his bottom lip. His birthday was coming up soon. He was a little nervous. He was finally going to be twenty-one and he had yet to plan anything. He'd been so caught-up with Levi's mood swing that he'd forgotten about his own birthday!

That would have to change.

His birthday landed on a Friday which would be perfect!

He opened the Facebook app on his phone and started typing up an event for his birthday, inviting a bunch of people from uni, a few relatives from nearby and Mikasa –hoping she could return for the weekend at least.

His finger hovered over Levi's name.

In the end, Eren opted not to invite him over facebook. It wasn't as though he was online often anyway. He did, however, copy and paste the information into a text to Isabel. He don't know what possessed him –in hindsight he would blame the late hour –and pressed 'SEND'.

His heart lurched.

It was done.

The ball was in Isabel's court now, and she could do as she pleased with the information. He only hoped his birthday was a night to remember –and not for any of the bad reasons he kept having nightmares about. Worse case scenario, he'd pin the blame on Jean and punch his stupid horse face in.

Good, he had a game plan.

His skin prickled as he settled down to sleep, his eyes focused on his laptop across the room. A million thoughts rushed through his head. Would Isabel tell Levi about his birthday event? There was no reason why she wouldn't. Would Levi even come? Would he even care? If he did come did that mean he cared for Eren? Or was it just a friendly thing you did for a stranger fourteen years younger than you?

' _Wow_ ,' Eren thought, blinking in surprised at himself. ' _Armin's right. I'm such a fucking drama queen!_ '

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait in updates! It's been rough. Thankfully, I have several chapters written up as of now, I just want to pace them a little more x**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains sensitive imagery.**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 ** _ISABEL IS BOLD AND ITALLICS_**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

 **Friday PM**

.

.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

Levi glared up at the person who had interrupted his staring contest with the belligerent squirrel outside his window, and suppressed a groan when he caught sight of Erwin staring down at him. If there was one thing he loathed about the older man, was that his very eyes demanded subservience. They were cold, hard and bright blue. They made every member of the faculty cower before him.

Everyone except Levi.

During his first year as a teacher, Erwin had assessed him at the end of the last term and had admitted that he admired how Levi didn't bend over backwards for him. He admired that Levi was a straight-arrow and didn't take any bullshit. He'd offered the promotion of vice-principal right there and then, but Levi had declined. Every year Erwin offered him the position and every time Levi said 'no'.

It was almost like a game at this point.

Wordlessly, Erwin closed the classroom door behind him and stood to attention, broad arms folded across his chest. "So, Levi, how're you classes going this term?"

"As well as can be expected," the shorter man quipped.

"Your class grades have maintained throughout the year."

"That's good."

"I only wish you could tutor the rest of the teachers to be like you."

"Then no one would do anything you wanted," Levi smirked.

Erwin chuckled. "No, I supposed that's true."

There was a moment of silence that made the hairs on the back of Levi's neck stand up on end. "What do you want, Erwin?"

"A little bird told me you have been texting during some of your lessons."

Ah, so that was it.

Levi shrugged. "And?"

"Well, it's not very professional, is it?"

"Considering my students' grades have stayed consistent throughout the year so far I'd say it didn't make a bit of difference."

Erwin inclined his head in agreement. "This isn't me berating you for that, Levi. I was more –curious as to who it was."

Levi turned to the taller man with surprised eyes. Erwin wanted to know about Eren? Where was this coming from? Setting his mug down, Levi turned to lean back against the cupboards lined under his window. "Why do you want to know?"

"Levi, we're friends. I'm a little hurt that you didn't tell me you were seeing someone."

"I'm not seeing someone!" he snapped. "Not really. We met-up one time."

"Which you didn't tell me about."

Levi pressed his lips together. "Is this really the place to be discussing things, Erwin?"

"Perhaps not," the tall blonde agreed. "However you have been rather hard to catch recently. How about we go out tonight? You've missed the last few Friday night get togethers."

"You've missed a few yourself," Levi deadpanned. "Are you being kept up by someone too, Erwin, or do you just suck at being sociable?"

"I think we're both bad at being sociable."

Levi rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. "If I agree to coming out with you guys, will you leave me alone for the rest of the schoolday?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

"Good. We'll see at the usual place at 6PM then?"

"Fine."

Erwin shot him a disarming smile. Levi glared at the broad man as he turned on his heel and marched out of the classroom just as the bell rang for the end of the first break. Levi wrinkled his nose as he set his mug of tea on his desk. Any minute he would have those young idiots coming into his class. He needed to clear his head and stay focused.

.

.

A couple hours later the last of the year 9's filed out for their lunch break and Levi was left to his own devices. He gathered his books up, patted his pockets down to make sure he had everything before heading out of his classroom and locking the door behind him. He went down the corridor to his office, went inside, and collapsed into his large, leather chair. He had a mini-fridge in his office in one of the cupboards and he usually kept his lunch in there. He didn't trust any of the staff when it came to not stealing other people's lunches from the communal fridge.

Yes, he was paranoid.

As he settled down at his desk and spread a clean dishtowel over the smooth wood and prepped his Tupperware and drink upon it, his eye wondered over to the calendar. It was March. Eren's birthday was at the end of the month and it was a train of thought Levi kept finding himself trying to quash. All he needed to do was focus on his work and get through the rest of the month without further incident.

As he ate, he contemplated what else Erwin wanted to talk to him about. Was it perhaps that he was snapping more at this students? That he'd started giving even more homework over the last two weeks under the pretext of preparing his students for the end-of-year exams?

Taking his glasses off, he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a weary sigh. He had a lot to think about. His friends had done nothing but be on his case about Eren since he'd had his initial freak-out. They'd never been this interested in his love-life before. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Last time it was just easier to ignore them when he had someone else's house to go to.

He didn't even know where Eren lived, specifically.

'Why are you stressing over the brat's birthday?' the voice in his head hissed. 'It's not like you're going to celebrate in any way. You'd send him an e-card at best with some bullshit you got off the internet.'

He was lying to himself. It made his stomach twist and clench uncomfortably at the thought of it. He don't know why he felt like that; his twenty-first had hardly been a barrel of laughs and he just wanted Eren to have a good time, especially after all the Reiner nonsense he'd had to deal with. It had been a trying few months and the kid deserved to let loose and go a little mad.

Maybe he was just getting too old for this type of shit? Then again … Eren liked him. Whenever that thought entered his head, Levi couldn't deny the warm flush that spread through his chest. He knew the real reason Eren needed to have a good birthday; he cared for the shitty brat. Against all his better judgement he really and truly cared for Eren –maybe even beyond the bounds of friendship.

"Don't be stupid," he sighed to himself. "Do you really want to be there anyway? To watch him grind and suck face with other snotty brats his age?" He scoffed at himself, "Knowing my luck he'd pull all the hot, bi-curious football lads and be done with it. Why settle for a grumpy old man when you can have a gang-bang on your birthday?"

'Stop being bitter!' his mind snapped.

He cringed at how harsh he was with himself.

Finishing off his food, he downed the last of his bottled iced-tea and reclined in his chair with a heavy sigh. He and Eren had still been texting, although it wasn't as often as it had been prior, and their conversations always seemed rather stilted. It was like they both wanted to talk about something but neither had the guts to broach the subject in conversation. For example, Eren had sent him a text first thing that morning and he hadn't had the brainpower to reply. Not yet.

Still it would be nice to call the kid again –hear his voice –let time fade away in the background.

The bell chimed, jarring him out of his reminiscing.

Levi nearly dropped his head on his desk. Four more hours. He could do this. Just four more hours and he could go home.

.

.

He don't know how he did it but somehow he found himself walking listlessly along the chilly pavements as the sky darkened overhead towards his block of flats. He adjusted his coat collar and stepped into the lobby, keys digging into his palm as he mounted the stairs. He didn't have the energy to go out for Chinese that evening but he knew Erwin and the others would come and drag him out of bed if he even dared to ignore their demands.

Hanging his coat by the door and toeing off his shoes, Levi made straight for the bathroom. Turning the water on full-force and hot, he peeled his clothes off and made short work of stepping into the shower and soaking himself through. The heat blitzed through to his bones, allowing him to shake off the chill from the day. His frantic thoughts were dampened down considerably as he raked his fingers through his raven hair and soaped himself up.

'Getting back to my normal routine will be good for me,' he told himself as he massaged the shampoo in. 'If I sit and wallow in my own misery they'll only barge in at 3AM for an intervention.'

Once he was rinsed through, he padded out and dried himself off, changing into a loose pair of black slacks and an open collared white shirt. It wasn't overly fancy but he didn't have the heart to dress in more 'festive' colours. Hange had often described his wardrobe as 'monochromatic'. Once dressed and his hair had thoroughly dried he went into the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea. He had about half an hour before he needed to leave for the restaurant. Just enough time to relax his mind. He pulled his phone out and opened up Eren's last message.

.

(9:07) Hope you're having a good morning –since I know you've probably been awake for a while. Try and smile :)

.

He smiled wistfully at the emoticon. Eren knew that they bugged him, but he still sent one anyway –probably just to irk Levi into actually smiling. He went to his screensaver and felt his insides twist; the day they'd spent at the aquarium still made him flush with excitement. He hadn't genuinely enjoyed someone else's company in what felt like an eternity. His phone vibrated.

.

(17:45) **I hope you're ready Mister! Farlan and I are waiting! x**

.

Levi rolled his eyes before walking out to the hall, slipped his shoes on, grabbed his coat and headed out the front door. He met Farlan and Issy at the end of the hall and they walked downstairs towards the small car-park behind their building.

The drive to the Chinese restaurant took all of ten minutes.

Erwin was already inside having gotten a table for the four of them. He'd ordered the first round of beers and Levi felt his stomach squirm. Upon seeing them walking over, Erwin grinned. "Hey guys, I hope you don't mind I already got us some drinks."

"I'm only having the one," Farlan insisted. "Someone needs to help these two get home safe."

Erwin barked out a deep laugh. "Sounds about right."

The others settled down into the vacant seats on either side of the table. Levi found himself sitting opposite Erwin and next to Issy. Uh oh. "Shall we order?" Issy piped up. "I'm starved!"

Levi swiped a menu off the table although he knew exactly what he'd be having. It was a wonder they didn't start cooking their order as soon as they walked through the door. He just needed to mentally prepare himself. He could feel the weight of Erwin's gaze on him and his skin prickled.

It was going to be a long night.

~0~

It wasn't until after their food had arrived that Erwin broached the subject. "So, Levi, tell me about this person you've been chatting-up."

Levi almost inhaled his chopsticks. He shot Erwin a venomous glare but before he could open his mouth properly, Issy dove headfirst into ruining his life. "His name is Eren and he's made Levi absolutely smitten!"

"Bite me, Issy! He hasn't done shit to me!"

"Really?" Farlan retorted dryly. "They were texting virtually all day every day. He even persuaded Levi to start reading Harry Potter and they weren't even in the same room at the time."

"Really?" Erwin's thick eyebrows shot up in amusement.

"Yes!" Issy cackled. "He came over to borrow ours! Still has them, actually."

"And if you keep this up I'll thrown them out of the window and set fire to them," Levi sneered.

"No you won't you love them too much!"

Damn, she had him there. He did love those goddamn books –even with the amount of deaths involved. He clenched his jaw and returned his attention to the meal before him. Suddenly, the other half of his food looked unappetising. He took a long swig from his pint and tried to calm the jittery feeling in his chest.

"Are we ever going to meet this Eren then?" Erwin teased.

"Not bloody likely."

"Why not?"

Levi glared up at the older man. "Lets take stock here. My friends consist of you, Eyebrows, this maniac," he jerked his head at Issy, "And the silent giant over there."

Farlan rolled his eyes at the nickname. "You're just grumpy because the kid's taller than you."

"Kid?" Erwin frowned. "Dear God, Levi, you're not doing anything illegal are you?"

Levi glared harder. "No, Eyebrows, it's not illegal."

"So how old is he?"

"He's twenty-one at the end of this month."

"Oh," Erwin said. "That's not terrible."

Levi felt his shoulders tense. He took another swig of beer. "Spit it out, Erwin."

"I've not said anything."

"You're thinking something."

Erwin sighed and fiddled with his chopsticks. "Fine. Isn't a thirteen year age-gap still a bit too much?"

"Well it's not like we're dating so it doesn't matter," Levi groused.

"You're not?"

"Yes they are!" Isabel insisted.

"Issy, we're not dating!" Levi snapped. "Just leave it alone will you? He's a friend and that's it."

"Calm down, Levi, you don't need to get grumpy," Farlan said calmly. "We're only teasing."

"Yeah well I don't need that sort of shit right now!" he snapped. "Did you ever think that maybe I'm having a stressful few weeks?"

"What because of that blip you guys had?" Issy frowned. "I thought you guys fixed that?"

"Hardly," Levi curled his lip up. "It's not been the same so yeah, thanks for taking the piss out of me." He stood up and swiped his coat up off the bench.

"Wait –Levi don't go!" Isabel grabbed his sleeve but he swatted her hand away.

"Save it." He dug in his pocket and tossed down a twenty pound note. "Keep the change."

They called out after him, urging him to come back and finish dinner. Erwin even made a grab for his shoulder but sharp reflexed allowed him to dodge the older man quite effortlessly.

"I'll see you Monday," he intoned before leaving. He could feel several pairs of eyes follow him out but he didn't care.

.

.

At the end of the road he paused, drew out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit up. Inhaling the sour taste, he started walking again with no particular direction in mind. The streets were black, illuminated only by the sparse pools of lamplight along each side of the road. A cold wind whipped through his hair and down through his clothes. He pressed his lips firmly around the cigarette butt and took a few moments adjusting his coat collar higher around his face.

He don't know how long he ended up walking but he soon found himself overlooking a large stretch of neatly cut grass with black iron benches dotted alongside the stone paths. Down in a natural dip of land there sat a small oval pond. It was empty; a sheet of smooth black glass that glimmered faintly. Levi walked towards it, seating himself on the bench beside it.

It really was cold.

The evening's events played through his head and Levi couldn't deny that all of his sour musings and mood-swings were down to him being too wrapped up in his head about Eren. The beer must have dulled his senses somewhat, because before he knew it he had his phone in his hand and was dialling Eren's number.

He answered on the fifth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey kid it's me."

"Oh um … h-hey Levi. I –didn't expect to hear from you today."

"I know. I've been shitty with you for the last few weeks and I want to apologise."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry for being a shitty person."

"Mmmmm I guess I should be used to it."

"No, God don't do that!" Levi groaned.

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't get used to something as obscene as that. I want you to tell me when I'm being a shithead."

"I tried that once. It didn't end well, remember?"

Levi cringed gripping the phone tighter. He exhaled. "Yes. I'm sorry. I … uh … I don't know why I called."

"Why did you call?"

"I was out having dinner with Farlan, Issy and Erwin and … well … long story short they were antagonising me about you and considering how things have been I may have snapped and stormed off."

"Drama Queen."

"Perpetually."

"Mmmmm –uh! Who's Erwin?"

"Friend from the army. Now my boss. Some things never change."

"I see."

"Did I wake you?"

"Sort of. I was drifting."

"Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. If I wanted to ignore you I'd have rejected the call." More shifting sounds as Eren rearranged himself in his bed. Levi tried not to think about how adorable the damned brat probably looked. "So where are you now?"

"On a bench by a park pond."

"Very psycho-killer. I like it."

"It is somewhat spooky. Lonely, too."

"Well I'd offer you company but a) I don't drive yet and b) I don't think either of us want me taking a forty-five minute train-ride just to sit on a bench with you."

"It's not all we could be doing."

"Mr. Ackerman are you trying to proposition me?"

"That depends. Is it working?"

"It might be."

"You sound absolutely shattered. Do you want me to let you go?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Eren yawned. "I'll stay on the line until you're home."

"I guess I should head back then. The guys might have gone home early after my little stunt so hopefully they won't ambush me on my way to the door."

"Okay I'll keep you company."

"Thanks."

"What are friends for?"

Levi tried to ignore the stiff lurch of his heart. "So tell me, how is life in London? How's Mikasa's exchange program?"

"It's cute you remembering my family," Eren mumbled. "Life's pretty dull and I'm having to scrimp every last penny for driving lessons. Mika's okay, but she's busy out having fun and exploring so she doesn't get to message as much as she could."

"Your parents?"

"Dad's been busy at work prepping for hayfever-season and my mum has been getting all excited because one of our cousins is having a baby so that's a thing."

"Eurgh babies."

Eren snickered down the line, "Not a baby person I take it?"

"They're messy! And they have the attention span of a stoned sloth."

The laugh that caught his ear made Levi's insides melt. "Oh shit! I forgot how funny you are!"

Damnit was he blushing now?

"How's uni going?"

"It's going," Eren sighed. "I have until the end of August to finish my dissertation and I am going insane. I may have to stop the driving lessons soon to focus on it."

"You just need help managing your time a little better, that's all."

"We'll see. It doesn't help that my sports medicine professor is a bat-shit crazy cow who probably snorts meth to stay on top of everything."

Levi chuckled. "Good grief. Does she talk at a million miles a minute?"

"I'd say yes but I don't think she uses WORDS! I swear she opens her mouth and it's just buzzing."

Levi chuckled again and was momentarily surprised to find himself standing outside his building. Digging out his key, he managed to slip it into the lock and start making his way up the stairs. "Well I'm in the building now. Another five minutes and I'll be indoors and safe."

"I'm so glad," Eren hummed.

"Little shit," Levi smirked. He fiddled about with his key for a while before he was able to unlock his front door. He closed it behind him and slid the chain on. "Okay. I'm in!"

"Huzzah! The valiant warrior hath returned, unscathed, from his wanderings!"

"Methinks the maiden doth protest too much."

"Oi!" Eren choked. "Don't talk like that."

"Why?" Levi purred. "Does it do bad things to you?"

"Shhhh sleepy Eren going to bed now!"

"Don't try it brat."

"Shhhh night-night Levi …"

Levi chucked as the line went dead. His cheeks hurt from smiling. "Sleep tight shitty brat."

~0~

 **Sunday AM**

.

.

Over the weekend Levi kept himself tucked away in his flat, relieved that he and Eren seemed to be back on the same page. At the very least, the awkwardness had left the older man whenever he replied. Issy and Farlan had text him, knowing full-well that he'd slam the door in their faces despite his better mood. He just wanted to be left alone and enjoy some peace and quiet just incase his comfortable little bubble was shattered again. Levi had to admit he was overjoyed when he rolled over in bed, swiped his phone up and saw that he already had a text from Eren.

.

(10:02) Good 'morrow, handsome knave, how doth the morning greet thee?

(10:13) **My morning hath blessed me with the sweet words from thou's soft lips.**

(10:17) Mine lips mirror the sweet suppleness of thou's favourite fruit.

(10:23) **Sorcery! Do not taunt this fellow with a fruit betwixt thine lips!**

(10:30) Sorcery? Ha! You jest good sir! Thoust hath no shame!

(10:35) **Shame be the daemon upon thine soul! I welcomed his presence with open arms!**

(10:46) Cruetly! The devil within you hath burdened your mind! You are driven wild into frivolous fancies of delectable fruits and sorcerors the age of a son! Are you not ill, beloved?

(10:51) **Woe is me! Beloved –I hasten to be the term however thine heart will never beat beneath my breast. It shall remain out of touch, caressed by cupids own hand and cradled in the ribcage of my lover.**

(10:55) [are we perhaps a little too good at this?]

(10:57) **[I don't care. It's amazing. You're better at this than I thought you'd be.]**

(11:01) Scoundrel! You dare to insult me!

(11:04) **Intelligent young mortal. Thou shalt not accuse a creature such as I of wicked things. Lest those wicked things come back unto you.**

(11:09) Oh divine heart! How you tease and taunt me with such affections!

(11:14) **Affections, my little knave? Thou art a ragamuffin! Present your posterior for a rigorous punishment!**

(11:36) Oh God! I'm sorry! I choked on my coffee and it went down my shirt and I've had to strip the bed!

(11:40) How can you make Old English hot?!

(11:42) Seriously?! I feel like I'm discovering new and creepy fetishes purely through you!

(11:50) **I'm willing to take all of that as a compliment.**

(11:53) Of course you would!

(11:58) **What? It's hot. I could literally rock up to your bedroom window and spout some Romeo and Juliet bullshit and would have to catch you as you THROW YOURSELF at me from the window.**

.

.

 **Sunday PM**

.

(12:04) You're a prick.

(12:07) **I'm glad that opinion hasn't changed over the last few weeks.**

(12:12) The radio silence has helped cement it.

(12:16) **Good.**

(12:22) Why do you like me calling you a prick?

(12:29) **It makes it easier to say 'I am what I eat'.**

(12:32) Good grief you're lame haha.

(12:35) **It's also not strictly true. Think I only sucked one dick in my life and it was just vile.**

(12:39) Iiiiiiiiiin what way?

(12:45) **The guy really REALLY liked his pineapples. Made his jizz sickeningly sweet.**

(12:47) So … Does that mean I should stop eating strawberries?

(12:51) **Careful, kid. If you're not careful you're going to give me the impression that you WANT me to touch you all over.**

(12:54) Hardly an impression.

(12:59) **Braaat is there something you want to tell me?**

(13:05) I've missed you. I … still do.

(13:07) I want to come and see you.

(13:10) **You mean like … at my house?**

(13:14) It doesn't have to be. We could just … meet up somewhere. Talk. Have some drinks.

(13:16) **Are you trying to ask me out on a date?**

(13:18) No! No not a date! I mean … well no, it's not a date …

(13:20) It's just two adults meeting up for drinks and catching-up.

(13:24) **Eren.**

(13:25) … Yes?

(13:27) **Would you like to come up and have brunch with me next weekend?**

(13:30) For real?

(13:34) **Of course you nitwit!**

(13:37) **You do realise that I didn't even let Hange know where I lived until about four years ago.**

(13:41) **And when I finally did I had to lay newspapers on the floor for her to step on.**

(13:45) Couldn't you just ask her to take her shoes off?

(13:47) **I did. This was for her feet.**

(13:48) Ew.

(13:50) **Back to the topic at hand, yes, you're more than welcome to come up to my end and have brunch.**

(13:53) You have no idea how big my smile is right now!

(13:57) **I can imagine.**

(13:58) I … really want to see you again.

(13:59) **One week, kid.**

(14:02) COUNTING DOWN THE SECONDS! ;D

* * *

 **A/N: Yes this chapter was so sweet I think my teeth are rotting! :D Please review! x**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains sensitive imagery.**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 ** _ISABEL IS BOLD AND_** ** _ITALICS_**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

 **Saturday AM**

.

.

(11:13) IS HE THERE YET?

(11:16) **Dear God woman will you fuck off and let me enjoy myself for once?**

(11:20) No! LEEEEEVIIIIIII I WANNA KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP TO!

(11:24) **Can I just talk to you AFTER he's gone home?**

(11:27) BUT LEVI THAT'S SO LONG!

(11:29) **I know. That's why I suggested it.**

(11:30) LEVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIII!

(11:30) **JUST FUCK OFF SHITTY GLASSES!**

(11:31) Poo :'(

~0~

Levi fiddled with his phone for a moment, his eyes occasionally drifting up to look at the door. He was nervous. He and Eren had gone through a lot over the last couple of weeks and now he was going to be seeing the young man. As stupid as it was he felt like a teenager again sneaking out to meet his crush! Although –Technically Eren was the one being sneaky.

Taking a sip from his tea, Levi directed his gaze back towards the papers he was reading through and grading. Adjusting his glasses on his nose he exhaled deeply before getting to work.

He was so engrossed in his marking that he jumped a little when a hand rested on his shoulder. Glaring up, he felt his insides twist when he saw Eren's pink-flushed face smiling down at him. Levi suddenly forgot what words were and how to use them.

"I was worried I'd gotten the wrong address!" Eren gushed as he settled onto the opposite side of the booth and peeled off his gloves and scarf. "Have you been waiting long?"

Reanimating, Levi shook his head. "No, not really. About fifteen minutes."

Eren nodded his smile barely faltering. Levi looked back up at the younger man, raising an eyebrow at him. "Sorry I just … It still feels surreal that you're an actual person and I've met you and …"

"Eren."

"Yes?"

"Would you like a drink?"

Pink cheeks flushed a little brighter. "Er … Yes please."

Levi smiled before excusing himself and heading up to the counter. It was only when he got there that he realised he hadn't asked Eren what he wanted. He decided to take a risk and just order the kid some coffee to help perk him up. It _was_ a rather cold morning.

Once he'd been served, Levi returned to their booth and was surprised to find Eren had unpacked some notebooks and a textbook from his bag. "So what is this?" he asked amused. "A study date?"

Eren blushed and ducked behind his fringe. "Sorry I just … needed to finish this off. You don't mind do you?"

"How can I? I'm grading papers."

Eren chuckled and gratefully accepted the coffee. "Ohh, perfect! I've been gagging for a buzz all morning!"

Levi smirked and settled back into his chair. He watched as Eren's skin warmed to a soft, peachy colour and how his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He didn't realise he was staring until Eren snapped his fingers at him. "Sorry. Zoned-out a little."

Eren cocked his head to the side. God, he was so fucking cute! "Did you stay up late again? Reading?"

"Hardly," Levi deadpanned. "I'm holding out to read the last Harry Potter."

"Oh. How come?"

"I can't bring myself to read it. I feel like I'm prolonging the inevitable, even though I know it's going to end."

Eren bit his bottom lip. "Well, if you like, maybe we could read it together?"

"Together?" Levi felt his stomach jolt. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well we have these amazing inventions!" Eren gushed and swiped up his phone. "We have these amazing things called PHONES! We can literally call one another from different ends of the country and one of us can read!"

Levi peered over the rim of his glasses. He was almost certain he saw the younger man squirm in his seat. Physically _squirm_ , as though the mere sight of Levi wearing glasses was the hottest thing on the planet. He really was giving Levi too much power over him.

"Eren did you bring your homework here so I would help you?" Levi asked in his sternest voice.

Eren squirmed again. "Of course not!" he stated, "It's a good thing I did though, seeing as you brought your own."

Levi sighed and folded his arms over his chest. Fixing a firm stare at the younger man he leaned a little closer over the table. "Eren, are we going to have to have a word about your being dishonest to your elders?"

"Oh God …" Eren groaned. He dropped his mop of messy brown hair onto his textbook. "Don't do th-a-a-a-t!" he whined.

Levi chuckled. "Sorry. I wanted to see what it'd do to you."

"Fucker."

"Oi!" He smacked the kid upside the head. "This is a family place. No bad language."

Eren peered up, chin resting on his book and glared. "Fine. Fudger. You're a big mother-fudger!"

Levi snorted into his tea and dribbled some on his lap. He grimaced. Thank goodness he'd put napkins down there! Snatching a few more from the small silver dispenser he mopped himself up as Eren apologised profusely. "You're an insolent little turd, you know that?" he groused as he screwed the napkins up into a ball and tossed them to one side of their table.

"I really am sorry," Eren frowned, his mouth turned down at the corners.

"It's okay."

"Hmmm."

"Oi brat." Eren looked up. "Stop acting like a kicked puppy. How about we work for an hour and then grab something to eat?"

"Can't we have something now?"

Levi grimaced. "You want to eat and touch your books?"

"Only something small."

Damnit human's should not be allowed to evolve to be as cute as Eren was!

Grabbing a five pound note from his back pocket, Levi handed it to Eren. "Go on, kid, go feed yourself."

"Gee whiz Mr. Levi! A whole five pounds? Good golly I must be your favourite!"

"One more quip like that, Eren," Levi said in a low sultry voice. "And I'll bend you over my knee in front of all these patrons and given your arse a nice hiding, how does that sound?"

Eren seemed to struggle. Eventually, he leaned over the table and murmured, "Don't make promises you can't keep … _sir_."

Before Levi could smack him up the head again, Eren had rushed out of the booth and made his way up to the counter.

.

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

"DONE!"

Levi glanced up as Eren slouched back in his seat, stretching out to the point that their legs brushed together, and flipped his books shut. "I physically cannot do anymore work when I'm this hungry."

The older man merely hummed. He glanced at his watch and watched the hand tick-tick-ticking until –"Okay, it has been exactly one hour. Are we done with this study session for today?"

Eren nodded emphatically. "YEEEES! Please can we go and get something proper to eat? If I stuff any more biscuits in my mouth I'm going to get fat!"

He felt his lips twitch just a fraction as Eren started stuffing his books back into his messenger bag. He didn't follow suit immediately. He wanted to torture the brat –teach him some patience for once. "Am I allowed to finish my tea?" he quipped as he raised his cup to his mouth.

Eren smiled wistfully. "You drink tea really weird."

Levi rolled his eyes. "We've established this, kid."

"I know. I just like knowing things about you."

"You're a nosey little shit that's why."

Eren snickered, "Aw you know you secretly love it!"

' _I do,_ ' Levi thought. He drained the last of his tea and stood up. "Come on then, brat, let's go and get some proper food." He adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder and made for the door, Eren hurrying along clumsily behind.

The fresh air hit him a little harder than he had anticipated but it was soon warded off when he felt the solid mass of Eren brushing up against his back. A tremor ran down his spine but he fought it off, straightened his shoulders and looked up at the younger man. "Any cravings?"

Eren paused, looking left and right up the street. "I'm not really sure. Anywhere in particular you like?"

Levi frowned. "It doesn't need to be anything spectacular."

"Pub lunch?" The older man wrinkled his nose. Eren grinned, "What? You said it doesn't have to be spectacular."

"Hmmmm but they're always so sticky."

Eren let out a bark of laughter. "Oh God!" He wiped at his eyes and tried to contain his chuckling, much to Levi's annoyance. "Okay, okay, just try it? For me?" Levi still didn't look convinced so Eren opted to reach for the big guns. "You can drink if you like, seeing as it's past midday."

"Don't tempt me."

"Although I will be heartbroken if you need to drink yourself silly just to spend time with me."

Levi rolled his eyes. "You're a manipulative little shit, you know." Still, he tried to put some actual thought into it. He hadn't gone out for the usual Friday night Chinese, so his gut felt the longing pang for chicken, rice and steamed vegetables in gooey sauces. "Come on brat let's go get some Chinese."

Eren grinned as he watched the older man march off down the street. He only needed to stride a couple of paces before he'd caught up to him. As they walked Eren kept stealing glances down at the old man and felt his insides squirm. He certainly had the bearing of an ex-soldier. Despite his height he was authoritative and demanded respect in the space of a single glare. There was something about it that made Eren want to annoy the older man just to see that glare again. It made his grey eyes smoulder and it sent butterflies through his chest.

' _We're friends!_ ' he snapped to himself as they walked along in silence. ' _Do you really want him to flip-out again?_ '

They stopped at a small Chinese restaurant with bright yellow window frames and ducked inside. Eren had to duck his head a little as he followed Levi. The décor was standard; chunky wood benches, long flat tables, bright photos of the food hung up in thick frames. The aroma of the food just rushed over their heads and made Eren's gut grumble instantly.

"G-o-o-o-d this place smells great!"

Levi smirked in approval. "It tastes better than that, trust me."

They were seated in a more secluded table up a step near the back. It felt cosier, the lights a little dimmer but it was nearer the kitchen. Eren felt his mouth water. They glanced over the menus although Levi already knew what he was going to order. It rarely ever changed. Once they'd ordered food and been served their drinks, Eren shrugged off his coat and raked a hand through his hair before letting his wide green eyes take-in his surroundings.

"So this is where your friends drag you once a week?" he asked.

"Yes," Levi said. "Although not so much over the last few months."

"Is that because of me?"

"Kind of."

Eren's smile faltered a little. "Sorry."

Levi shrugged. "It's okay. I can promise you I don't usually … act that way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he assured with a nod.

"I don't mean to be difficult," Eren said, his shoulders slumping. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Hey now," Levi reached out and placed a hand on Eren's forearm. He'd sensed the young man was about to bolt and didn't want him to leave. Not like this. He squeezed the firm muscle through the long-sleeved shirt and looked up into those beautiful green eyes. "Stop that. That's over and done with now. Time to move on from it."

Eren nodded feeling humbled.

Their food arrived and they started eating. Eren stared over as Levi effortlessly used the chopsticks. "You need to show me how to do that one day," he stated wistfully.

Levi smirked. "If we keep meeting up then I'm sure I can help with that. Here try this." Lifting up his chopsticks, Levi presented Eren with a springroll delicately balanced between.

Eren blushed a little. "Thought you had OCD? You sure you want me germing-up your chopsticks?"

Levi glared at him. "I've had other things in my mouth besides food, brat."

Eren felt his cheeks grow redder.

"Come on."

Leaning awkwardly over the table, Eren accepted the offered springroll. He felt the weight of the older man's gaze on him the entire time. It was flooding his head in a sporadic mess of ideas, fantasies and strict reminders that this was not a date!

"Such a good boy," Levi drawled. "Now see if you can catch it."

That's how the rest of their lunch devolved into a food-catching game. Levi even went as far as to order two portions of springrolls, only four of which actually ended up on the floor. Eren was red in the face by the time they finally finished and cleared up their mess. Levi wasn't a laugher –that was one new thing Eren learned. The man would smile, smirk, do almost anything with those lips of his … but laughing? No, Levi was _not_ a laugher.

Not like Eren at all.

Drawing in deep breaths Eren sipped at his drink. There was no immediate rush to head-out and the grey day didn't attract much more business than a few stragglers wanting somewhere warm to duck into from the cold. By the time they did get up and leave it was almost 3PM and Eren was starting to fidget as they left the restaurant.

Levi frowned up at the younger man as they walked idly down the street. "What's wrong, brat? You're fussing more than usual."

"I think I might need to get home," the brunette said, his face falling. His entire demeanour looked miserable as though gravity had increased on his body.

"You think?"

"Well I said I was going to be out studying with a friend. It'll take me an hour or so to get back so …"

Levi suppressed a sigh. "So you need to get going?"

"I guess so."

"Want me to walk you back to the station?"

Eren stopped and frowned down at Levi. "Are you –aren't you mad at me?"

"Why would I be?" Levi deadpanned. "I knew I couldn't have you all to myself the _entire_ day."

Eren's lips twitched in a faint smile. He lifted his hand and gave Levi a playful jab with his fist. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?"

The older man scoffed. "Shut up, brat."

.

.

As they made their way through the town towards the train station, Eren let his hand brush against Levi's, almost daring the older man to reach out for his own. He didn't seem to acknowledge the faint touch, not even after the third time it happened. Suppressing a sigh, Eren directed his attention towards pinpointing the train station. The temperature had dropped and a part of Eren was eager to get home and warm himself up properly. At the station entrance –noting that he had ten minutes until his train arrived –Eren turned to Levi and rocked on his feet.

"Today was nice," he said.

Levi hummed in agreement.

"Could we maybe do it again some time?"

"I'm free on the weekends," Levi swivelled his gaze up to the brunette. "If that's okay with you? I don't want to disrupt any other plans you have."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem," Eren grinned.

Levi nodded. "So shall I expect to see you next Saturday?"

"If you like."

"I would."

"Good." They stood in silence before Eren let out a laugh. Reaching out, he grabbed Levi's arm and tugged the older man against his chest and squeezed. "I had a _really_ great time, Levi."

"It wasn't anything special," Levi scoffed, squirming out of Eren's grasp. His whole body was flushed and his mind was starting to reel.

Eren shrugged. "I had a great time because of _you_ , idiot."

"Says the brat who is YOUNGER than me and clearly easily amused."

Eren rolled his eyes. "One day you won't be so grumpy and stand-offish with me."

Levi averted his gaze. Being so close to Eren wasn't good. His mind was a mess of thoughts, feelings and ideas all infused with the soft cologne clinging to the young man's coat. "I had a good time too."

The grin Eren was wearing was ear-splitting. His green eyes darted to the timetable on the board and said smile faltered. "This is my train," he sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I'll come up and see you next Saturday. I promise!"

"Go before you miss your train!"

Eren laughed as he dashed down the length of the platform. He made the train with moments to spare. Levi was left to watch after him, feeling exasperation and amusement flood through him. His phone buzzed within moments and he felt said amusement twitch his mouth as he dug his phone out of his pocket.

(15:56) So has he left yet? Give me GOSSIP! ;P

(15:58) **FUCK OFF FOUR EYES!**

~0~

"I'm really not sure I understand what they're asking me on this."

Levi glanced up at the frowning young man and raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Trouble?"

"It's just … it's like they sound the questions in an overly philosophical way just to make it harder."

Levi snickered and beckoned for the sheet. Eren handed the whole thing over, pouting as he did so. Snatching the paper from the student, Levi glanced over it, his mouth twitching into a strained smile after a while. "This isn't that hard, kid."

"Well it must be because I don't get it."

Levi rolled his eyes a little before standing up and moving over to Eren's side of the table. The brunette shifted up in surprise to make room. Spreading out the sheet between them Levi took a pen out and started to explain the question in an easier-to-grasp way. He even wrote it out in Eren's notebook for him. Eren watched the older man work; the way he pointed his pen along the sentence, the quick, sharp scratching of his pen and the way his low, rhythmic voice spoke so close to Eren's ear. His face was so smooth, so stoic, like a beautiful Greek statue. Eren swallowed thickly.

"Is that easier for you?" Levi asked.

Eren suddenly felt the urge to lean over and kiss him. It came out of nowhere and his chest instantly tightened as the idea flashed across his mind. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly for a moment before he coughed himself back to reality. "Um … Yes, that's better."

Levi smiled a little as he straightened back up against the booth. Eren flushed a little, the pen feeling sweaty in his grip. He tightened his hold on it and started working his way through the question. He was hyper-aware of Levi's thigh resting gently against his own. Most of their morning went on in this fashion to the point that Eren was giddy and fidgeting like a love-sick schoolboy.

"You really do act like a teacher, you know?"

Levi cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Just the way you act," Eren shrugged. "Your mannerisms."

Narrowing his eyes, Levi looked over the rim of his glasses. "Are you mocking me, brat?"

"N-No! I just meant that –well –I kind of like it." Eren felt his cheeks flame up. He forced his gaze back to his assignment and ground his teeth together. God, he was going to kick himself! "Never mind," he mumbled.

"No, I want to know," Levi said. "I want to know what makes me act like a teacher."

"Just like … the way you explained stuff … to me –I don't know!"

"You know," Levi hummed quietly, leaning closer to Eren's ear. "You're very attractive when you're flustered."

That had the desired effect; the red dots on Eren's cheeks exploded, covering his face in a bright red blush. "L-e-v-i-i-i!" he whined, dropping his head onto his textbook as Levi chuckled beside him. What an arse! He could see the effect he had on Eren and he was tormenting him with it! He clamped his arms over his head, earning another chuckle from his companion.

"Am I being mean to you?"

"You know you are," he grumbled.

"What can I say? You're fun to torment."

Eren pouted, turning his head to one side so that he could look up at Levi. The man was actually smirking down at him! "You're an evil fucker, you know that?" he grumbled.

"You're just reiterating that I was right to call you 'brat' from the start." Pulling a face, Eren yelped when Levi smacked him upside the head. "Don't be a brat, brat."

Eren chuckled before straightening up and fiddling with the fraying sleeve of his shirt. He was thinking deeply about something and Levi was willing to wait for the kid to get the words out. Patience was needed with Eren, he knew that much. He seldom had it at work, or even with his own friends, but he took extra care to make sure that Eren didn't _actually_ feel like a nuisance to him.

"I've been thinking …"

"Oh? About what?"

"Well … About my birthday and shit."

"It's next Friday isn't it?"

"Yeah," Eren hummed. "I'm having a family-only thing on the Friday evening and then was going to do something on the Saturday."

"Like what?"

"Just a house-party I guess." He shrugged, "I'm not really sure."

Levi waited patiently. He was torn between reaching out for the young man and keeping his hands on the table where he could see them. He didn't want to get the kid all flustered again.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come … but then I suppose house-parties aren't really your thing anymore?"

"They weren't really my thing in the first place," Levi stated, wrinkling his nose. "We could do something on the Sunday perhaps? If you're not too hungover?"

"I guess."

"I can come down to London."

"Yeah that'd work."

Levi frowned a little. Eren's demeanour was closing off. He hadn't given the right answer to the party invitation. Damnit! Just when he thought he was getting on the same wavelength, the brat pulled the rug from under him.

"I can try and make it down on Saturday –providing you don't think it'll be weird."

"Why would it be weird?"

"You and your friends are all ten plus years younger than me."

"Well it's not like you look your age!" Eren protested.

"Perhaps," Levi agreed. "However, I also don't look _your_ age."

Eren furrowed his brow. There was no arguing that. Whatever age Levi looked it definitely wasn't twenty-one. "I suppose doing something on Sunday isn't the worst idea."

Levi smiled weakly but knew that it didn't quite reach his eyes. There was a disappointed, hollow feeling in his chest that felt suffocating. He tried not to let it show. Instead, he cleared his throat and asked, "Do you want to get food?"

"Yeah sure. Chinese again?"

"Sounds good."

.

.

It was just gone 5PM when Levi waved Eren off on the train back to London. He'd stayed longer than he should have and had panicked a little when they'd realised the time. Levi turned away from the train station and made his way back to his flat. He'd barely stepped off the staircase before Isabel's door opened and she grinned at him. Voices flowed out from the flat and Levi cringed visibly when he recognised Hange's voice among them.

"You've been waiting for me," he deadpanned, heading towards her door. Resisting would be futile since he only lived down the hall.

"Gee, what gave it away?" Isabel grinned as she closed the front door behind him.

Levi rolled his eyes and braced himself before heading into the living-room. They were all there –Hange, Mike, Farlan and Isabel –with beer cans and popcorn spread out over the coffee table. "You lot really need to get a life if the only entertainment you have is keeping tabs on _my_ life."

"TELL US EVERYTHING!" Hange demanded, her wide eyes crazed behind her glasses.

Levi glared at her and took his time going into the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of red wine. If he was going to do this, he wasn't going to be doing it entirely sober. Returning to the living room, he settled down into a vacant beanbag chair and schooled his face into an expressionless mask. "Go on then. Ask your questions."

"What did you guys do?"

"Homework, grading, eating food and making jokes. Just like every Saturday," he answered drily. "Next?"

"Have you asked him out on a proper date?" Mike frowned. "Like to the cinema or to an actual restaurant?"

"No. Next."

" _Why_ haven't you asked him out on a date?" Isabel asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Levi bristled a little. "I don't want him to freak out," he finally admitted after a sip of wine to calm his nerves. "At the end of the day, I want him to trust me."

"To what end?"

"I don't know yet. We haven't discussed it."

Isabel and Hange shared a look before matching smirks appeared on their mouths. It was terrifying. "You're scared!" they chimed.

"Nope."

"You totally are!" Isabel squealed. "Oh, that's so cute!"

"Shut it," Levi sneered in a cold, measured tone.

Farlan nudged him on the shoulder from his own beanbag chair. "Be nice. They're only teasing."

"I don't see why," Levi snapped.

"Because you're in l-o-o-o-o-ve!"

"Fuck me, not you too?"

"Afraid so."

"You lot suck." He downed the rest of his wine before scrambling out of the beanbag with as much grace as humanly possible. "I need another one if you lot are going to keep this up."

Two glasses of wine later and they'd steered onto the subject that Levi had tactfully been avoiding all night; Eren's birthday the following week.

"You have to do something for him Levi!" Hange squealed. "You can't not do something! It's his twenty-first!"

"I'm aware."

"So? Any ideas?"

"Nope."

"Come on Levi," Farlan edged forwards awkwardly, his long legs flailing a little. "What do you guys talk about?"

"He's a pretty average guy," Levi shrugged.

"BULL. SHIT!" Isabel cackled. "Come on! Does he drive?"

"No."

"Does he … like books?"

"Sort of."

"You could get him some Harry Potter stuff?" Farlan suggested.

"Not good enough," Isabel waved him off, her face scrunching up in concentration.

"I'm sure we can think of _something_!" Hange stressed, her own brows furrowed.

The room fell quiet, the air humming as the girls worked their brains. Farlan, Mike and Levi looked on with a foreboding sense of doom looming at the back of their minds.

"I've got it!" Hange squealed, making them all jump.

"No, you don't," Levi grunted.

"I _totally_ have it!"

"Well don't keep me in suspense!" Isabel pouted.

Grinning wickedly, Hange leaned over the coffee table and practically smooched Isabel's ear as she clumsily murmured her idea. Levi watched in horror as the redhead's eyes went wide and her mouth stretched into a manic grin. "Oh, my GOD that's PERFECT!"

Levi shuddered.

Turning her head towards him, face reminiscent of the exorcist, Hange asked, "Hey Levi. Do you still have that box at the back of your wardrobe?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"I think we need to go and dig it out."

He tensed up. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

"YES!"

"Fuck you shitty glasses!"

"It's time for a reunion!"

* * *

 **A/N: See! I'm nice to you guys! x**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hello my beautiful readers!**

 **I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for the support I've gotten for this story over various sites.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains sensitive imagery.**

 **B x**

* * *

 **LEVI IS BOLD**

 _EREN IS_ _ITALICS_

HANGE IS UNDERLINED

 ** _ISABEL IS BOLD AND_** ** _ITALICS_**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

.

 **Friday PM**

.

.

(16:02) **All set up for your birthday then?**

(16:05) _Yup. As far as I know everything has been set up. I just have to show up._

(16:09) **Easiest job of your life.**

(16:11) **I'm sorry I wasn't free today. Although I have sent you something.**

(16:15) _Really? :S_

(16:17) _I've not seen any other packages._

(16:20) **Maybe your sister took it to put with all the other presents?**

(16:22) _Oddly enough, that's something she'd do._

(16:26) **When are you expected to get there tonight?**

(16:17) _Eightish?_

(16:19) **Ah okay. So you have time to chill before then.**

(16:21) _So what's kept you so busy that you're missing my birthday?_

(16:23) **I was commandeered by Hange to help with some heavy lifting.**

(16:25) _Sounds fun._

(16:27) **Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, darling.**

(16:29) _Darling, eh?! ;)_

(16:31) _It MUST be my birthday!_

(16:34) **Don't get cocky, brat. After midnight, it's back to your regular, boring life.**

(16:38) _Wow. Talk dirty to me. ¬_¬_

(16:41) **Carry on being sarky with me, and I won't talk to you at all.**

(16:45) _NO! Okay I promise I'll be good!_

(16:47) **That's what I thought.**

(16:50) _I just wanted to see you today that's all._

(16:52) _Introduce you to my friends …_

(16:55) _Show them that you ARE real …_

(16:59) **They doubt you?**

(17:03) _Sometimes_.

(17:06) **Do they realise how hard it is to text an imaginery number?**

(17:08) _For a teacher, you're an idiot. But you do make me smile :)_

(17:12) **I'll allow that emoticon because it's your birthday.**

(17:15) _YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!_

(17:19) **Dumb brat.**

(17:24) _I'm starving! Armin better hurry up!_

(17:29) **What are you lot going to do?**

(17:34) _We're going to have some pizza and pre-drinks, just the three of us._

(17:37) _Then PARTAAAAAAY!_

(17:41) **Good grief you really ARE a kid!**

(17:43) _Shut UP grumpy-pants! Birthdays are AWESOME!_

(17:47) **Did you have sugar?**

(17:49) **I feel like you've had sugar.**

(17:52) _I've not licked you yet ;)_

(17:53) **My God …**

(17:55) _Levi it's my birthdaaaaaaaaaaaaaay._

(17:58) **You get four more of those.**

(18:03) _You tease!_

(18:06) _Okay Armin's finally here! I'll text you when I can! :D_

.

.

.

.

(19:14) _Levi have I ever told you that … I'm really glad I text the wrong number at Christmas? :3_

(19:17) _You keep me sane! I didn't realise how mad I really was before you!_

(19:29) **They've gotten you to do shots, haven't they?**

(19:36) _Only like … two?_

(19:40) **Light-weight.**

(19:43) _Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_

(19:50) _Wait no! Don't shhhhh!_

(19:52) _Heading out now :'(_

(19:58) **Go out and have fun tonight kid.**

~0~

"Ow!" Eren winced as a sharp hand swatted him upside the head. Rubbing his head, he glared at Mikasa as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "What was that for?"

"We're here," she said.

Being abroad hadn't changed Mikasa's attitude all that much. The only difference in her was that she wore skirts a little more now that it was warming up and had taken to growing her hair out a little. She even have a red braid woven through it from when she'd visited Sweden. Eren scowled at her as he unfastened his own belt and opened the door. Stepping out in the carpark, he saw that they were at a hall that usually hosted gradtuation after-parties, or other large events.

"What're we doing here?" he asked with a frown as Mikasa shouldered her handbag and made for the entrance.

"Just hurry up! Everyone's inside!"

Eren hurried to catch up to her, the chill in the air making him walk quicker. Once inside, a wall of heat washed over him. He quickly shed his coat and raked a hand through his hair. Mikasa slipped out of her red peacoat and unwound the scarf from her neck. They handed them to the attendant near the front door. Eren was impressed; this was a pretty swanky place for somewhere that only catered to people needing large spaces. Not that he minded.

Once they walked through the door, Eren blinked adjusting to the darkness. Bright lights flashed here and there, disco balls and decorations hung from the ceiling. The air was thick with sweat and alcohol as people danced, getting buzzed as someone DJ'ed in the far corner.

"Wow …" Eren gushed. "Mika this is too much!"

"Shut up," she elbowed him with a grin. "It's your twenty-first!"

Eren felt somewhat uncomfortable at the effort that had clearly been made. It was too much, really, and it had no doubt cost a lot to organise and get together. Still, he knew Mikasa would continuously punch and pinch him if he carried on saying so, so he kept his mouth shut. Looping an arm around her shoulders, he pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

"You're amazing!"

Through the throng of people, a shock of blonde hair suddenly emerged and clung onto Eren's arm. "Eren!" Armin yelled above the growing noise. "How amazing is this?!"

"I can't believe you guys managed to pull this off!" Eren exclaimed, his eyes drinking it all in.

The music was growing louder, slowly but surely. Eren could feel it vibrating in his chest. He felt almost breathless as he veered off to one side and grabbed a bottle of cider. He'd move onto the harder stuff later in the evening. Mikasa shook her hair over her shoulder; she was wearing a silver halter top that looked great on her. Eren was sure that if they weren't related and he wasn't gay, then he'd go for it! Maybe she was trying to get someone's attention? He craned his neck over the throng of dancing bodies –

And grimaced when he saw Jean.

Leaning close to Mikasa's ear shouted, "What's horse-face doing here?"

Mikasa rolled her dark eyes. "Oh come on! You guys are friends!"

"Nuh uh!" Armin interjected loudly. "They're frenemies!"

Eren laughed at that. Armin was too damn smart even when he was on the verge of becoming drunk. Wrapping an arm around each of his friends, Eren squeezed them tightly. So far this was the best birthday he'd had in ages –and he'd only just arrived!

A new song came on and Eren's eardrums exploded as Armin dragged him deeper into the crowd to start dancing.

Within the hour Eren was pleasantly buzzed, jumping and dancing about with all his relentless energy and sweating. He was wearing a thin shirt but that didn't stop his entire body from burning up. Unwinding himself from the bustling group of steamy bodies, he clumsily made his way to the bar and grabbed a bottle of beer. He wasn't too fond of the stuff but if he was going to get nice and hammered, he needed to start on the stronger stuff. He thanked the girl behind the bar and turned back towards the main hall.

That was when he noticed the smoke.

A hush seemed to descend upon the crowd for a moment before murmuring and cheering started up. The neon lights flashed against the smoke, making Eren feel like he was high as he drank from his bottle. He could barely focus on anything; the voices of his friends faded out into the background, the smoke tickled at his throat and eyes as the long red velvet curtains that cloaked the stage drew apart.

Eren's heart stopped.

A single spotlight highlighted a lean body dressed in a black suit, white open-collared shirt and –were those bandages on his eyes? A heavy rift started up, blitzing through the air. The man grabbed the microphone, his deep voice vibrating through Eren's chest.

"Kneel down you pigs!"

Noise exploded through the air as the drummer and guitarist started up behind him. All three wore bandages as the music howled and blended with the screaming and cheering of the crowd. Eren was transfixed as he watched them play. They were amazing!

As they played, Eren let his gaze wonder over the rest of the stage; banners hung from the ceiling, depicting each member of the band with the same bandages wrapped over their eyes, with the title 'NO NAME' scrawled across the bottom. Was that the name of the band? Eren frowned, letting his eyes drift from one member to the next.

The guitarist –Eren had never known anyone to move their fingers so fast! The drummer was pretty awesome too, based on the heavy beat he was banging out. And the vocalist –Eren felt all his insides stir and thrive as that deep voice soared through the air, hitting against every nerve over and over until his mind felt like it had unlocked to its full capacity!

"Eren!"

He turned to see Mikasa beckoning him from the front of the crowd. As though in a pounding daze, Eren forced his way through until he was at the edge of the crowd, looking up at the stage and the singer –his thick, black boots were a few feet away from Eren's face. Everything about the man was breath-taking! His legs were toned like a runner's, the jacket was so snug that Eren felt his mouth running dry, especially whenever he got a flash of that pearly white skin beneath the collar of the open shirt.

"Aren't they amazing?!" Mikasa yelled in his ear as the guitarish launched into a solo.

"Where did you find them?"

His question went ignored but he thought nothing of it as he watched the black hair flop over those bandages. He felt like he was steaming inside his clothes, aching to reach out and pull those bandages off.

The voice was back and it drove Eren mad!

He was panting as he cheered and moshed with his mates around him, beer sloshing down his front and sweat dripping down the back of his neck. Mikasa had her nails dug into his shoulder as they jumped to the rhythm of the music. Armin was on his other side, constantly being jammed against Eren's ribs as people around them knocked into one another.

The lyrics ends, the guitarist played one last rift and –

"You did well," the vocalist growled. "For pigs."

There was a beat –and then Eren's entourage exploded in applause and cheering and demands for another song. Eren felt his heart slide low into his chest as the drummer took up another mic and intoned rather breathlessly, "We were only requested to play one song, for the birthday boy!"

More cheers.

"Alright everyone after three! One … Two … Three!"

Eren felt embarrassment wash over him as everyone around him –bar staff and band members included –started chanting 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!' What was happening?

' _HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!_ '

His cheeks blushed bright red as he looked as the crowd surrounding him.

' _HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!_ '

He felt too many emotions at once; happiness, shock, surprise, claustrophobic, anxiety, amusement –and it all barrelled right through his brain at a million miles a minute!

' _HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ER-E-E-N!_ '

Oh God! This evening was perfect! He felt hot tears prick his eyes as he tried to laugh away his nerves and hide his face in his hands. Mikasa and Armin grabbed his arms and held them down by his sides so he could face his friends.

' _HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Y-O-O-O-U!_ '

The cheers and applause was deafening. Before he could comprehend anything, there was suddenly a large cake in front of him with a large '21' iced onto the top of it. Twenty-one candles illuminated his small bubble of personal space as he was yelled at to make a wish! Chewing on his bottom lip, he closed his eyes and wished for the one thing that would have made tonight so, utterly perfect –even if it wasn't going to come true.

He blew the candles out.

More cheering! Why was there more cheering?

When he glanced back up at the stage the band was gone.

~0~

The DJ was back on duty, playing out heavy-bass beats and watching the youngsters jump and scream and grind against one another. Eren was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his energy thrumming through him. Armin was bobbing up and down through the heady, sweaty gloom and Mikasa had been dragged off somewhere by Jean. Eren was too buzzed to give a shit in that moment. He was having fun!

A hand landed on his shoulder.

Spinning around, Eren felt his brain jar back into his body as he saw who was standing before him, perfectly still and smirking. He felt his arm drop and beer splashed over his shoes. "Shit!" he grimaced, straightening himself up before leaning down to talk in Levi's ear. "What're you doing here?!"

"It's your birthday!" Levi shouted back. "I wanted to see you!"

"But how … when …?" Eren's eyes dropped down to fully see what Levi was wearing. His eyes widened. "Oh my GOD! THAT was your BAND?!"

"Yes!" Levi chuckled. "Hange and Mike just left!"

Eren craned his neck trying to see the two other band members but Levi's cool hands around his flushed skin drew him back to earth.

"I told them to leave!" Levi strained his voice. "I don't want you to meet Hange while drunk!"

"I'm not drunk!"

Levi quirked an eyebrow, "Close enough!"

Eren reached out and tugged on Levi's arm, "Dance with me!"

Levi's face went blank. "No thanks!"

Eren faltered for a second and then tried to take stock of what was going on. Levi was being jostled by hot, hormone-enraged young adults and he only came all this way to see Eren. He felt his insides burn up as he leaned close once again, "Should we go somewhere quieter?"

"Come with me …"

Eren let Levi tug him off through the crowd. He didn't know what time it was and he didn't care. It was awkward making their way through the heavy crowd and Eren felt alcohol bubble inside his belly as –once outside –the cold air smacked him hard in the face. His hearing came back, oddly silent in comparison to the music drumming dully through the door.

He let out a sharp exhale and shuddered.

Something clicked and then the smell of cigarette smoke hit his nose.

"You don't mind do you?" Levi rasped. "I've been dying for one all night."

"No …" Eren murmured, cuffing his face. He was sweaty and sticky all over. His brain was rattling around his skull.

Levi glanced up at the birthday boy and frowned. "Are you okay? You're not going to be sick, are you?"

"Just … getting my bearings."

Levi reached out and squeezed Eren's shoulder with such force that he staggered down towards the concrete steps. His back pressed against the brick wall and the cold shot through him. "Try to breathe," Levi murmured, his fingers ghosting a trail through the stringy brown hair. "I think the DJ's wrapping up for the night."

"So soon?"

Levi frowned down, then. "Eren you do know it's gone 1AM, right?"

"Well I do now."

"You're drunk."

"No," Eren shook his head. "Just very buzzed." He let out a long, slow exhale. "The air helps."

Levi smoked his cigarette, letting Eren gather his thoughts together. Eventually, he'd smoked all the way down to the butt and dropped it on the floor. Grinding it out with his shoe, he grimaced and then turned to Eren who was sat, staring up at him with glazred green eyes.

"You actually came."

Levi inclined his head, "Of course I did."

"You played a song for me."

Damn, that stupid grin was cute!

"I may have done."

"You're sweet."

Levi was going to argue but he caught himself. The last thing he needed was Eren to flip-flop while drunk. Extending a hand Levi said, "Come on. You're coming back with me."

Eren frowned as he accepted the hand. His insides twisted as he was pulled up to his feet. He staggered a little but Levi was there to steady him. "Er … thanks. So where're you gonna take me?"

"To my hotel room."

"O-oh!" Eren felt his face blush. "Right. Makes sense."

Levi cocked an eyebrow. "Problem?"

"Nope! No problem, no!"

"Eren."

"Yes?"

"You're blushing."

Levi smirked as Eren started blushing even redder. It was like someone had flipped a switch on his cheeks. "Do you need to go back inside and grab anything?"

Eren frowned for a moment, the words making no sense to him. Then it clicked. He patted his pockets down, checking for his wallet, phone and keys. Yep, he had everything. Was he missing something? He felt as though he was. "I'm not … sure?" He cast a look over his shoulder at the door. "Should I maybe go and say 'goodbye' to Mikasa since she arranged all this?"

Levi waved his hand in an arch. "Feel free. I can wait."

Eren gave the older man a dopey smile before quickly hurrying back inside. He went through two wrong doors before finally finding the main hall he'd been in. The music exploded in his ears as he shuffled his way through the dancing people towards the stage. He tapped the DJ on the shoulder and gave the signal for a time-out. The DJ nodded, scratching the records to a halt.

There was a groan just as Eren picked up the mic to address them. "Hey guys! Sorry to stop the music I just wanted a quick word!" He looked out at them. They were all almost too drunk to see straight. "I want to thank you all for coming tonight to help me celebrate my twenty-first. I'd especially like to thank Armin and Mika for the band! Apparently this place is booked for the next half hour so party hard and be safe!"

His friends erupted into applause and the DJ started the music up again.

Eren used the discration to slip off the stage and clumsily made his way back towards the door Levi was waiting at. The fresh air didn't hit him as hard this time.

"Ready to go?"

Eren looked idly in Levi's direction before nodding slowly. "Sure."

"Come on then."

The older man beckoned for Eren to follow as he led the way out of the parking-lot of the building and onto the main street. Yellow pools of light dotted the pavement as they moved through the streets. The air was frigid and their breath rose up in front of their faces. Eren huddled down a little, tugging the collar of his coat a little higher around his mouth. The roads were deserted. The night was quiet, broken only by the soft sounds of their shoes on the pavement. Eren wasn't exactly drunk but he did seem oddly fascinated with his shoes and how they needed to go one in front of the other instead of side-to-side or back-to-front.

Feet are weird, he decided.

"We're here."

Glancing up, Eren saw a 'PREMIER INN' and smiled at the bright purple logos. He followed Levi inside, thankful that he'd remembered his I.D. Once they'd signed-in, Levi took the key and led Eren up towards the third floor.

It was just as the lifts opened their doors that Eren felt his stomach sink.

Levi was taking him to his hotel room.

Levi was taking him to his hotel room.

Levi. Was taking him. To his. HOTEL. ROOM.

His skin exploded with sweat and nerves as they came to a stop outside one of the identical pale doors that lined the corridor. Levi slipped the card through the reader. It beeped. The door swung inwards and Levi entered, turning on the lights. Eren swallowed thickly, panicking.

Was this what Levi had planned for his birthday? To take Eren's virginity on his twenty-first? It wasn't as though he'd been unwilling to for the last five years, however now that the prospect faced him –it sent him into a tailspin.

" _Eren?"_

Shit.

Levi reappeared in the doorway, his expression frowning with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I just –I don't think –we shouldn't –h"

"Eren."

"Y-yes?"

"You're stammering." Eren clamped his mouth shut. Levi gave a tender smile. "I didn't bring you here for that, brat," the older man said as he tugged on Eren's sleeve, effectively dragging him in through the door, letting it click shut behind them. "I brought you here because I'm tired and would like your company for a little while longer."

Eren blinked at his surroundings; the room was bright white with dark furniture and fresh white bedsheets. There was a thin purple comforter folded over at the bottom and the air felt cold enough to make him shudder. There was a small overnight bag on the end of the bed. It dawned on Eren that this was where Levi had come prior to his party.

"So … just sleeping?" Eren hedged.

Levi shot him a deadpan look. "Well, you'll be sleeping, I'll probably be reading or something."

Eren frowned, tugging at the hem of his jumper. "I … I don't have anything to wear."

"Wear your shirt and boxers."

Eren felt his cheeks heat up again. "Are –are you sure?"

Levi sighed and bowed his head over his bag. "Tell you what; I'll go and get ready in the bathroom. You sort yourself in here if you feel uncomfortable." The word left a bitter taste in the older man's mouth but he ignored it as Eren visibly relaxed. Grabbing his bag by the handles, Levi hauled the bag up and made his way into the bathroom. He felt tense as he locked the door and tried to calm his buzzing mind as he started to unpack his nightwear.

~0~

Eren waited on wobbling legs as Levi closed the bathroom door. He heard the lock slide into place and let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Why was he still so tense and nervous? Levi wasn't about to screw him about. He was older, more responsible, he wasn't about to take advantage of him. Still a little unsure, Eren tried to focus all of his attention on shuffling out of his heavy jeans, boots and socks. The cool air made the hairs on his legs prickle.

The bedsheets were just as cold as he expected. He shifted underneath them and pulled the puffy duvet up under his chin and wriggled about until he was comfortable enough. He sighed with relief just as the bathroom door clicked open. Levi tugged the light off and padded into the room dressed in his loose dark grey pyjamas. He raked a hand through his undercut and placed his bag on the lone chair standing off to one side next to a small table with breakfast items on it. He set a book on the bedside table before pulling the covers back and climbing into bed, making sure to keep a descent distance between there bodies. Levi pressed the two switches beside the bed and changed from using the overhead light to the lamplight.

"Are you comfortable?" Levi asked in a low voice as he adjusted himself on the pillows. His glasses were still perched on his nose and Eren had to suppress the urge to ask Levi if he could wear them.

"Mhmmm," he hummed. "Very."

"Good."

Levi turned his attention to his book –not a Harry Potter one –and started to read from where he'd last left off. He was just getting into the rhythm of the text again when he heard the covers shift beside him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eren wriggle a little closer, his wide green eyes watching the book with rapt interest. Levi tried his best to focus on the words infront of him but with each passing breath it got harder and harder until eventually he snapped the book shut, making Eren jump.

"Stop that, brat."

Eren frowned up at him from his marshmallow-soft cocoon. "W-what did I do?"

"You're watching me read. Stop it."

What came out of Eren's mouh next startled both of them. "Can you read to me?"

Levi blinked down at him, his face impassive as his hand tightened on his book, out of sight amongst the covers. He clenched his jaw a little and tried to make sense of the words. "You want me to read to you?" he repeated.

"Yes please."

Levi sighed before smirking a little. "You're lucky it's your birthday."

Eren beamed brightly and didn't that just make Levi's heart skip rapidly in his chest. He wriggled even closer to Levi, so close they were practically sharing the one pillow. Flexing his shoulders a little, Levi prised the book open again and cleared his throat.

" _There are really very few conversation-stoppers than telling your brother you're considering arresting him for murder_ …" *

Eren fell asleep in no time at all. Levi lowered his voice bit-by-bit until he was sure that the kid had drifted off to sleep before he stopped talking entirely. He was only able to read a little longer before he sighed and placed the book face-down on his lap. There was no way he could concentrate now. Eren was burrowed down onto the edge of his pillow, his lips parted and breathing deeply. The faint smell of alcohol caught his attention but he decided to ignore it.

Hesitantly, Levi reached out and brushed a few strays of hair out of Eren's closed eyes. ' _So beautiful_ …' he thought. He let his hand fall away, hid fingertips itching at the loss of contact. Lying down flat on his back, arms at his sides, he stared up at the ceiling, watching as it slowly lightened up over the course of the next hour.

Just as he felt exhaustion overwhelm him, Eren's body shifted beside him. His long, cool legs brushed up against Levi's through his bottoms. Levi was about to shift away and roll onto his side when Eren's arm slid out of nowhere and looped itself over Levi's waist, hugging him a little closer.

Levi stiffened, breathing hard.

His mind was struggling to stay conscious and in control. What if Eren freaked out and having cuddled up against him during the night? There was no way to explain his way out of it. He tried to uncoil himself from Eren's loose grip. He didn't want to disturb the kid and risk embarrassing him and making him lose sleep.

' _Damn, this kid is strong!_ ' he thought.

He struggled in vein for a few moments before slumping back into the pillows in defeat. His eyes could barely focus on the dark shadows of the furniture in the room. Eren's weight lightly tangled with his own was warm, solid and comforting. Despite being an alien experience for him –it made his heart soar.

Finally, he gave-in, letting exhaustion crash down on him like a heavy blanket.

* * *

 ***Footnote: The quote Levi reads in the hotel is** **(DEXTER BY DESIGN, CHAP 11, page 90). I felt is was fitting for our boys ;)**

 **A/N: I'm going to be nice and update since tomorrow I'm off to Italy! xox**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: FORGIVE ME! I THOUGHT I'D UPDATED THIS STORY ON THIS SITE!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

.

.

 **Saturday AM**

.

Eren surprised himself by waking up first.

His eyes cracked open, the sound of his eyelashes like gunfire in his ears as he grunted and burrowed deeper into the pillows. His limbs slowly woke up, feeling hot and stiff inside the cotton sheets. His mouth felt dry and sour and he wanted nothing more than to find the energy to get up and brush his teeth. He grunted and dropped down on the covers. He let his arm drop –and winced when it collided with something.

Frowning, he peered up over the white covers and saw Levi.

His heart stopped, eyes widening as he froze in place, barely daring to breathe.

Levi's profile was relaxed giving him a soft look on his angular features. His hair was fluffy and slightly mussed against the pillows. His eyelids were closed but Eren was almost sure he could open them at any moment. He tried to breathe quietly as he shifted a little on his side, staring at the man lying next to him. If it wasn't for the faint pink blush on his skin, Eren would have assumed he was looking at a black-and-white photo. Levi's hair was inky-black and his skin was almost like alabaster, with jet black lashes curling softly against his cheeks. Peering down the length of the bed, he noted how toned the arms and legs of the older man were beneath the thin cotton pyjamas. His hands were limply rest across his abdomen –it was almost as though he hadn't moved the entire night.

Eren let himself relax, drinking in the sight of Levi.

'Beautiful,' flashed through his mind and he paused, surprised. Initially he had thought many things about Levi; cold, hard as nails and too many barriers around him for just anyone to break through. Yet … Eren had, somehow. He sighed, relaxing into the pillows. Levi was beautiful. His hands twitched, almost aching to reach out and touch him. He didn't –he knew that Levi wasn't the best sort of morning person.

As if on cue, Levi's eyes opened.

He lie there, grey irises staring up at the ceiling for a moment, adjusting to the soft, morning light. Then he breathed-out, turned his head to the side and raised his eyebrows a fraction. "Hey," he grunted.

"Hey …"

"Why're you up so early?"

Eren frowned. "Doesn't feel that early …"

Levi glanced over his shoulder and grabbed his phone off the bedside table. He clicked the power button and squinted. His lip twitched up on one side. "It's 6:08AM, kid. Go back to sleep."

"But –it doesn't feel like it …" Eren trailed off, realising how stupid he sounded.

Levi placed his phone back on the bedside cabinet before shifting onto his side, facing Eren. He motioned for the younger man to spin around. Eren frowned at him, fear spiking hot and sharp up his spine. Levi sighed. "Eren for once in my life I am actually tired. You're going to have a killer headache very soon. I suggest you get some water, drink it, and come back to bed."

Eren blinked dumbly for a second before obeying Levi's instructions. The man had only been awake for twenty seconds and he was already more alert than Eren could ever imagine being, especially so early. With the weight of Levi's gaze on him, Eren shifted to the end of the bed and waddled awkwardly to the bathroom. He downed a glass of water and swilled some mouthwash around before returning back to the bedroom.

He hovered in the doorway as Levi stretched languidly before turning over on his side, grey eyes staring straight up at the younger man. Eren shifted awkwardly before moving to the bed and gingerly climbing inside. He laid down on the soft mattress, sinking low into it, and exhaling softly. He felt tense. Licking his lips, he looked anywhere but at Levi. "I … er … I don't really know what to do."

"Relax. Try to sleep some more," Levi's low voice rumbled in his ear. It was so close –so gravelly –so deep that it vibrated through his chest. He closed his eyes, savouring that feeling.

"I –I can't really relax."

"Let me see if I can help."

Eren felt blood rush everywhere as Levi's hands stroked down his arms, the fine hairs prickling up. He felt his body being turned over, ever-so-gently, until he was lying on his side, his back to the older man. Levi shifted and soon Eren felt the warm brush of the older man's body pressing gently against his back. He quaked at the touch, pressing his face into the pillow to hide the heated flush creeping over his skin.

"L-Levi …?"

"Just relax, Eren."

"I … don't know if I c-can."

"Shh, shh." Those strong hands rubbed up and down his tanned arms. After a moment it did feel comforting, to have Levi so close to him, talking in his ear and letting his presence overwhelm him. "Just lie down and breathe deeply."

Eren hummed softly, feeling himself unwind in the duvet. His eyes were closed so that all he had were the movements, the sound of his heart and Levi's breathing and the feeling of Levi relaxing behind him, his arm hesitant before relaxing over Eren's waist.

As the young man drifted to sleep in his arms, Levi kept himself still as he leaned near Eren's warm body. The sun had risen about ten minutes ago, struggling in vain to pierce through the black-out curtains and illuminate the room.

Levi couldn't be having that.

As he lie there, his hand rested on Eren's thigh, he found himself almost wishing that every morning could be like this. The thought startled him as the feeble light shone over the curve of Eren's hip through the duvet. The poor brat was only in his shirt and boxers, his long, toned legs cool against Levi's. It had been years since he'd felt this overwhelmingly calm being in bed with another person. As much as he didn't like being touched he had the urge to peel his clothes off and press his bare skin against Eren's.

'Don't be a filthy old bastard!' he sneered to himself.

Eren deserved better than that.

Eren deserved to be doted on and taken care of.

Levi knew at least that he was able to protect the younger man. That wasn't in question. Yet, he also felt as though Eren would be bringing something more to his menial life. Eren whose humour was like a whiplash of colour against a black canvas. Eren whose laugh was loud and rauctious. Eren whose shirt had ridden up to expose a sliver of soft tanned skin to his eyes. He hadn't been able to resist; he'd reached over and ran his fingers gently over the skin, feeling a tremor ripple through Eren's body.

He was playing with fire.

He was toying with the fine line between what they were and what they could be, and the thought was daunting. If they ruined the friendship they had –then what if it all fell apart? He loathed the thought of losing Eren.

Eren groaned, making Levi freeze his fingertips still resting in the small of the young man's back. He grunted softly and rolled over onto his back, cracking a bleary eye open to stare at Levi.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Is it still morning?"

"Hmm just about."

"Did you sleep too?"

"No."

"Why not?" Eren frowned sleepily. God, he was cute.

"I don't really sleep, remember."

Eren tossed his head from side-to-side. "Mmmm-no! Levi that's not okay …"

Levi cocked an amused eyebrow. "Oh? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint."

"Should be …"

Levi couldn't help but smile. "Are you ready to get up yet?"

"Nuh uh. Want to spend the day in bed." To emphasise his point, Eren hugged a pillow against his chest and rolled over so that he was facing Levi. "Do we need to leave?"

"No," Levi said. "I booked the room for two nights."

"Oh?" Eren blinked. "Why?"

"I wanted to spend a little time with you on your birthday."

Eren beamed. It was completely disarming. "So does this mean … we can order breakfast in bed?"

"Don't be a little shit, kid."

"Lev-i-i-i!" Eren chimed, jostling the bed. "It's my birthd-a-a-a-y!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. Go and order something. The phone's over there."

Eren glanced over at said phone and pouted. He was about to say something when his stomach growled loudly. "Damn! Okay one sec."

.

.

Levi watched as the younger man toppled off the end of the bed and scrambled for the phone. He only half-listened as the kid ordered something to feed the tapeworm inside him from the front desk, before coming over and dropping back onto the bed, even closer to Levi than before.

The older man stiffened a little.

Eren gazed up at him, his bright green eyes shining in the dim light. Levi sat up a little against the pillows, looking down at the silly man with such fondness in his eyes that he couldn't imagine that there was actually a world beyond those four walls.

"You look different without your glasses," Eren murmured.

Cocking an eyebrow, Levi said, "Is that so?"

"Mmmm," Eren frowned before releasing his hold on the pillow. He shifted into a crouch and leaned closer to the older man. Levi tensed as Eren's warm palm cupped the curve of his smooth jaw. "I like being able to see your eyes …"

"Really now?"

"Yeah … they're um … they're beautiful."

"They're grey, kid."

"They're beautiful, Levi."

"Shitty brat."

Eren pouted a little, sitting back on his heels. Then his face split into a grin. "How bad is your eyesight? Can you even see me properly?"

Levi glowered up at him. "Of course I can shithead. I'm not blind."

"What do I look like to you now?"

"A slightly blurry brat with a big mouth?"

Eren leaned closer, "Now?"

"A cocky pink splotch?"

Closer. "Now?"

"Eren –"

"Levi …"

He was so close Levi could feel the breath ghosting his lips when –

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Eren jerked back. "Is that the food already?" Without waiting for an answer he'd bolted towards the door, yanked it open and practically cheered in excitement.

Levi sat on the bed, flustered and tense. That had been close. One more inch and Eren would have been –No, he couldn't think of that. The brat was still recovering from the night before. It didn't matter that they flirted sometimes, Levi needed to be the responsible one. Above all things, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he thought that Eren thought he'd been forced to be with him.

Eren returned to the bed with a large tray laden with food. "Breakfast is served!"

Levi offered a tight-lipped smile as they made a make-shift breakfast bar on top of the bed. He loathed the idea of invisible crumbs flying all over the place and getting trapped in the sheets. Thank God it wasn't his bed at home otherwise he'd have to teach Eren the rules of the bedroom. Rule one; NO FOOD BEYOND THE DOOR!

As they settled into the routine of eating food and drinking tea, Levi couldn't help but feel relieved and disappointed in equal measure. Though he didn't know what emotion went with which event that had just transpired.

.

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

After they'd eaten and fluffed the invisible crumbs off the duvet at Levi's insistence, Eren was more than happy to recline back against the pillows and go through his phone, browsing for photos of his party on social media. Levi pulled a face but didn't object as they put the radio on for some background music before pulling his book into his lap. Eren would chuckle now and again as he scrolled through photos and thirty-second videos.

"Oh, Levi look at this!"

Levi gave the brat a dry look before peering over his shoulder to look at the phone screen. It was a short clip taken directly in front of the stage –most likely near to where Eren had been standing. It was … surprising clear and made Levi's insides twist. "Well … whomever that was they have a good camera."

Eren glanced up at him, grinning. "You looked really amazing. I still can't believe that was you!" Levi rolled his eyes. Eren nudged his shoulder, jostling him. "Come on. Don't pout. It was amazing."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I know it wasn't really –a traditional gift. I couldn't think of anything else. I'm sorry."

"No!" Eren shook his head, "Oh God, Levi don't be sorry! It was amazing –such a surprise, too."

"Even so."

Eren rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Come on, show me more of your band. You sounded bloody amazing!"

Levi felt his heart squeeze affectionately. "Only because it's your birthday." Taking Eren's phone out of his hand, he fiddled around with it before opening Google up and tapping away at the keys. "Here," he finally said, holding the phone so that they could both look at the screen.

Eren's jaw dropped.

Not only was young-Levi basically the boy of his dreams with his windswept black hair, smoky grey eyes and black nail varnish –but he also had an amazing singing voice even just when his voice was vaguely higher. Hange –from what he could see of her –was slimmer, not fully grown into her womanly curves and her hair was a reddish brown mass growing out the back of her head. Mike was just about visible in some of the videos and clips, not to mention he was mainly hidden behind the drum-kit.

Relaxing, almost pressed against one another, Levi couldn't help but feel wistful as he watched Eren browse through old videos of his band performing. According to the brat, a mildly popular trend on twitter was **#NONAMERETURNS** had started up since last night. That surprised Levi. He hadn't thought his band was that good, considering it was over ten years ago that they'd formed it. Not that he was complaining. As they laughed together, Levi found his arm easily resting on the headboard behind Eren's shoulders. He could just shift a little and he'd be hugging the brat.

'Behave,' his mind warned.

Yet the way Eren squirmed against him was arousing. The way his legs flopped so easily over Levi's, the way his thigh brushed against Levi's crotch, the way his shirt kept riding up and up. The way Levi found himself tickling the git, making him laugh even harder until there were tears in his beautiful eyes and that laughter echoed merrily in his ears.

"LEVI!" Eren gasped breathlessly. "LEVI ST-O-O-O-P!"

"If you stop laughing maybe I will."

"How c-can I st-st-stop when you're –AH! –t-tickling me-e-e?!"

Levi continued to tickle, working his fingers mercilessly against Eren's flushed skin as he batted his hands away, his face bright pink from laughing. It got to the point where he could barely breathe. In a playful mood, Levi took advantage of Eren's exhausted state by grabbing his arms and flipping their positions. Leaning over Eren as he gasped for air, Levi smirked down at him as he pinned Eren's arms over his head.

"Gotcha!" he growled triumphantly.

Eren choked out air for a few moments as he stared up at Levi. "You're a bastard!" The words were loud but there was no malice behind them. It was almost affectionate, the way he'd said it.

Levi relented, letting the younger man breathe deeply.

Suddenly he was all too aware of how close they were and their position; Eren had his legs spread on either side of one of Levi's knees, his arms pinned over his head and his flushed body heaving mere inches away from the older man. Eren seemed to sober a little, his eyes searching Levi's face for something. He shifted, accidently rubbing his knee against Levi's crotch –earning a sharp hiss from the older man.

Eren froze –an awkward position as Levi felt himself slip a little, brushing against Eren's knee. "Levi?" he breathed.

Grey eyes opened lazily, drinking in the sight of Eren splayed and pinned beneath him. Reaching down toward Eren's face, Levi stroked the smooth skin and leaned closer. "Eren …"

The word ghosted over Eren's lips. His heart did a backflip. Those smoky eyes closed and the air escaped his lungs.

All of a sudden, they were kissing. It was tentative at first, hesitant and almost shy. However, something sparked, hot and sharp between them and it didn't take much encouragement before Levi emitted a deep, guttural moan and lowered himself entirely onto Eren. The younger man gasped, opening his mouth to Levi's greedy kisses. He reached up and ran his fingers through the thick black hair, pulling lightly as he moaned into the kiss, his legs splaying even further apart. Eren was dimly aware of the older man grinding hard against his thigh.

"God …" Eren gasped out as Levi's mouth furiously worked over his jaw and down his throat, the firm hands running down his sides and over his thighs, coaxing them further apart before finding their way back into his hair and clutching him in place.

"That's not my name –but I'll take it."

"Oh God, Levi …"

"Fuck Eren," Levi growled. "I've wanted to kiss you for ages."

Those words sent Eren's head spinning. Levi had wanted this? Had wanted him all this time? It made him feel giddy and overloaded with every other emotion. It was a short while later when Eren felt Levi's hand sliding down his stomach and inching closer towards his underwear that he panicked.

"W-wait! L-Levi d-don't touch –"

He didn't get to finish his warning. Before Levi had even plucked at his underwear, Eren felt himself come undone. Black spots exploded before his eyes and the room swam around him before he collapsed back onto the cool pillows.

Through bleary eyes, Eren watched as Levi released his boxers with a 'snap!' and moved out from between his legs with an amused smirk on his face. "That good am I?" he teased.

Eren felt his cheeks flush. "Sh-shut up! It's been a while!"

"I can tell."

Wiping a hand down his face, Eren frowned. "You didn't …finish did you?" he asked lamely.

Levi cocked an eyebrow and glanced down. Not a spot in sight. "Not quite," he said. Patting Eren's leg, Levi tilted his head towards the bathroom door. "Go and clean yourself up."

Eren quickly obliged.

When he returned Levi was back to reading his book, glasses perched on his nose and barely a hair out of place. Eren, despite his earlier embarrassment, felt his stomach flip just looking at the older man. They'd obliterated another barrier and Eren had to admit he couldn't care less. This man was amazing and made him feel things he'd only interpreted from songs and various fictional books. Not once did he anticipate feeling something like it.

Earlier had proven that Levi felt the same way –or at least a degree of it.

Raking a hand through his hair he padded over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. Levi looked over the top of his book, cocking a bemused eyebrow. "I don't have the plague, you know."

Eren huffed a laugh. "I know I'm just –I don't know."

Closing his book and setting it aside, Levi folded his hands in his lap. "Talk to me, kid."

Sighing Eren moved back into the middle of the bed, sitting cross-legged and bowing his head. "I'm overwhelmed," he stated, picking at his nails. "I just –don't want there to be grey areas between us anymore."

"Okay."

"So … Are we going to continue with –what we just did or make it official or …?"

"Eren?"

"Yes?"

"You're over-thinking again."

Eren flushed and nodded against his chest. "Yeah …"

"In answer to your question, we can do whatever you feel comfortable with. However, also know that living cities apart doesn't bode well for an easy-going relationship. I work full-time and you're still studying. Perhaps a relationship isn't the best idea for you right now."

"Eurgh you sound like my dad."

Levi chuckled. "Unfortunately, the man has a point. However –" Eren's ears perked up. "-I'm not about to object to kissing you again."

Eren's heart flipped again. "R-Really?"

"Of course," Levi smirked peering over the top of his glasses. "Why else would I invite you up to my room?"

Eren laughed and gratefully flopped down onto the bed, tilting his head to look up at Levi. The teacher cocked an eyebrow down at him, amusement flashing in his grey eyes. "Your glasses are hot."

"Is that so?"

"Mmmm," Eren grinned, getting up and kneeling in front of Levi. "Very hot."

Damn, this brat was getting brave. Levi was amused as the younger man reached out and traced along the frame. Levi closed his eyes, trying not to imagine the smudges being left behind on the sleek metal. Instead, he focused on the heat radiating from Eren's body, the damp spot on his underwear and the reddish mark grazed against his throat where Levi had ravished him.

"Levi?"

"Yes brat?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"You never have to ask, kid."

Eren pressed his lips to Levi's, shy at first before Levi reciprocated, easily opening his mouth to give access to their tongues. It was hot and wet and made a moan emit from Eren's throat. That sound drove Levi wild. He grabbed Eren's hips and dragged the taller man over into his lap, his knees bent either side of Levi's thighs. Wrapping his arms around him, Levi trapped Eren against him, grinding his hips upward and smirking when he felt the younger man growing hard against his own erection through their clothes.

"Mmm you do like it when I kiss you, don't you Eren?" he growled low into the brat's ear.

Eren twitched against him, clumsily rutting against Levi as the older man gripped his thighs and guided his thrusts. "Hmmm! Mean!"

Levi chuckled, slowly his rhythm a little. "Okay, okay, I'll stop torturing you."

Eren pouted at the loss of action, his cheeks flushed again and his hair mussed. "But –Levi!"

Rolling his eyes, Levi eased Eren off his lap and onto his side. Mirroring his position, Levi smoothed his hand over the young man's sweaty features. "Don't worry. I'm going to take this slow, okay? I'm not about to start making demands of you when you're not my boyfriend."

Eren's heart jumped at the word.

"So we'll take it slow, okay?"

Eren nodded.

"Good boy."

There was no time to formulate a retort before those lips were on his again and he was lost on a brand new wave of excitement. He was kissing Levi! It was like a dream come true! He hoped he wasn't dreaming –if this was a dream, he was going to be unbearably disappointed. A sharp nip on his lip made his start before getting lost all over again in the taste of Levi.

No, definitely not a dream.

~0~

Later that evening they were watching back-to-back movies on TV as Levi finished ordering more room service for dinner, despite asking Eren if he'd rather prefer going out for something to eat. Eren argued that there was only so much he could do with two-day-old clothes, to which Levi grimaced and proceeded to place their dinner order.

Eren had taken the time to shower before the food arrived.

Once they'd eaten and Eren had successfully dried himself off, they reclined back in their bed –Levi trying not to shift uncomfortably in the already used bedsheets –and relaxed as another movie began to play. Eren was still buzzing from their kissing marathon earlier. He dreaded leaving the hotel room as he didn't want to break the spell he'd found himself under. Any moment he wanted, he could lean over and kiss Levi. It was an insane concept he'd barely dared to dream would happen.

It had, though, and that was amazing!

It stole his breath away whenever he took a moment to revel in the memories.

Levi, for his part, seemed more relaxed now that one of their largest barriers had been broken down. It was though they could finally breathe easier together, considering how they'd danced around the subject for a while now.

Eventually, Eren felt his eyelids drooping and found himself practically cuddled up against Levi's side. Even this was exciting for Eren since he'd gotten the impression that Levi really wasn't much of a 'toucher'. Eren jerked when he felt Levi stroking his fringe out of his eyes. "You can go to sleep if you like," he stated in a low voice. "I'm not going anywhere."

Eren smiled weakly at the way the voice vibrated through him. He reached out and limpy squeezed at Levi's thigh. "You're wonderful …"

"Go to sleep, Eren."

"Nuh uh."

"You're tired."

"No –don't call me Eren."

"Why not? It's your name."

"Nuh uh –you –you call me 'kid'."

Levi blinked and then smirked affectionately. Reaching down he smoothed Eren's hair out of his eyes and adjusted the duvet around his shoulders. "Sleep tight, kid."

Eren's mouth twitched in a smile as he finally succumbed to exhaustion.

.

.

 **Sunday PM**

.

They eventually checked out of the hotel at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

Eren had been reluctant to leave at all but there was only so much wear in his party clothes. His phone had blown up that morning with texts and calls from his sister, Armin and even a voicemail from his mum asking where he was, to let them know when he'd be back and that she hoped he had a good birthday.

He'd made sure to text everyone to let them know that he was safe and would be home later.

He had been slightly surprised to see Levi up, washed, dressed and drinking coffee in the chair beside the bed. He was nearly at the end of the bed. Eren had been surprised that the noise of the shower hadn't woken him. They hadn't spoken too much as Eren washed himself, rinsed his mouth out with mouthwash and dried before changing for the last time into his clothes from his party.

He grimaced at the faint odour clinging to them.

He hoped Levi would tolerate it.

They'd left and gotten brunch in a nearby café. It was nothing spectacular but Eren had demolished his pancakes so fast that he'd ended up choking. Levi had smacked him hard on the back and Eren had to blink back a tear or two before choking out his thanks. Levi had tried to encourage him to have some fruit but Eren had stated that he only wanted strawberries with his pancakes but the waitress had said they didn't have any.

Levi narrowed his eyes but hadn't argued.

It took them a couple of tubes before they arrived at VICTORIA STATION where they would end up going their separate ways. Eren's train was leaving twenty minutes before Levi's. He hated the thought of having to leave the older man so soon after they'd spent most of the weekend together.

Shifting inside his coat, Eren bit down on his bottom lip. Levi stood beside him, stiff and stoic as usual, his black hair twitching into his eyes. Luckily his glasses protected them. Eren had the urge to take those glasses off so he could look into those grey eyes properly one last time. Maybe even kiss him one last time –

'THE 15:25 SOUTHEASTERN SERVICE TO GRAVESEND WILL BE LEAVING FROM PLATFORM 3 IN FIVE MINUTES.'

Eren grimaced. "I guess that's me."

"Hurry up," Levi said. "You don't want to miss it."

Eren nodded, fingering his ticket in his coat pocket. "I'll text you?"

"Sounds good."

Eren suppressed a sigh. Turning his attention on the barrier, he started to move towards them. 'Go back!' his brain screamed. 'Go back to him!'

Someone tapped his shoulder. "Yeah?"

Levi tugged him down and pressed a sharp kiss to his mouth. It was over in a flash but the imprint of his lips had a bruising effect, leaving Eren reeling as the older man smirked and shoved him towards the ticket barrier. Eren barely made it onto the train on time, hopping on just as the doors were sliding closed. He felt stupid and giddy as he found a seat and settled into it. His face split into a huge grin as his phone buzzed. Taking out he saw a new text from Levi.

(15:28) **You're adorable when you're taken by surprise.**

(15:31) You're hot when you take charge.

(15:35) **A VERY good thing you're not my student, then.**

(15:37) Oh yes. VERY!

Before he'd even reached the next stop his phone buzzed again, only this time it was Mikasa asking him to call her. With a sigh, he pressed the CALL button and waited for the dial tone to end.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Are you on your way home?"

"I might be."

"Great. Now give me the dirt."

* * *

 **A/N: Don't worry I'm totally updating again just to say 'SORRY'! x**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: FORGIVE ME! I THOUGHT I'D UPDATED THIS STORY ON THIS SITE!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

 **Monday PM**

.

Eren fidgeted in his seat. He was supposed to be taking notes but for the life of him, he couldn't focus on anything other than the fact that Levi was most likely busy and couldn't answer the texts Eren had sent him almost seventeen minutes ago. SEVENTEEN MINUTES! Not that he was counting.

Switching the song on his phone, he slumped back onto his bed and groaned. His leg jiggled. ' _Text me back, text me back, text me back!_ ' he willed his phone. He didn't want to keep harassing the older man but he'd been on a high since his birthday over the weekend and he still hadn't come down from it. Now he had three weeks off for the Easter holidays and had no idea what to do with himself.

' _Come on!_ ' he urged, ' _Text me back!_ '

When his phone did ' _beep'_ he almost jumped from his bed in shock, before scrambling for his phone to open the message.

(13:23) **You're bored, aren't you?**

(13:27) _Huh? No!_

(13:28) _Why? What made you say that?_

(13:43) **Because no self-respecting adult –least of all you –would start up a casual conversation with 'SAVE ME LEVI! MY PARENT'S ARE TRYING TO KILL ME WITH IDLE CHATTER!'**

(13:46) _… I feel like you're exaggerating._

(13:47) _**[LEVI SENT A SCREENSHOT]**_

(13:49) _Okay, maybe you weren't._

(13:52) **Why don't you go outside?**

(13:55) _Outside? Like … with people?_

(13:57) **Yes.**

(14:00) _Levi, can't you just come and rescue me?_

(14:04) **How about we make a deal? If you can go the rest of this week being proactive and doing something different each day I promise that, come Saturday, I'll rescue you.**

(14:07) **How does that sound?**

(14:11) _That just sounds completely unfair. I know you're not working right now. Nothing is stopping you from coming here to help me escape for this HELL!_

(14:13) **Good grief, Eren! Go play with some people your own age. You saw me just a few days ago.**

(14:15) **You cannot miss me that much.**

(14:18) _So what if I do? Does that bother you?_

(14:20) **Eren. Go and play.**

(14:23) _*pout* what're you doing that's so important?_

(14:29) **Packing a bunch of things to take up to my little cottage with me.**

(14:31) _W-what?! You're going to your weapons arsenal without me? That's cruel, Levi, even for you._

(14:34) **Oh pipe down. Like I said, if you behave yourself, I'll whisk you away for a few days.**

(14:36) **If you behave and go and play outside like a good little rugrat.**

(14:37) _Just FYI I'm glaring at my phone right now._

(14:40) **Good.**

(14:40) **Go.**

Eren frowned down at his phone screen, his chin planted on his knees. The weather outside was mild which meant there was literally nothing keeping him holed away indoors except for his own limited imagination. He huffed to himself. It was all well and good thinking of all these amazing things to go because life was 'too short' but the amount of people who actually did those things was rarer than people with green eyes.

In the end he whipped out his phone and called Armin.

Once he'd hung-up, he'd messaged Annie, Sasha and Connie if they wanted to have go for a hike in the woods. Sasha and Connie were game, but Annie said that she still had some work to do which was due at the end of the week. Although apparently there was a house-party Thursday night and he should totally come if he didn't have any other plans.

' _Well_ ,' Eren thought begrudgingly, ' _I guess that takes care of a few days._ '

For the time being, he needed to keep himself occupied until Armin was free at 4PM.

Levi sighed as he tapped his phone against his thigh. Re-reading through their messages he felt as though he'd been a little too harsh on Eren perhaps. He hadn't meant to come off as callous but at the same time he had been so focused on sorting through his wardrobe that he hadn't wanted the distraction.

Now, however, it niggled at him.

' _Goddamn, am I really this much of a dick to everyone?_ ' he thought with a frown. He tossed his phone onto his duvet before turning back to his open wardrobe. Two weeks locked away in his cottage sounded like Heaven.

He wanted to get away from work.

He wanted to get away from the kids.

He wanted to get away from Hange.

Although there was another part of him –now that he'd kissed Eren –that didn't want him to go by himself. However, there was no way he would be able to smuggle Eren away with him without alerting someone to their current relationship. Eren had stated that his sister and friend, Armin, knew but that was it. Above all things, Levi did not want to cause waves in the brat's life.

Drumming his fingers on his cross arms, he gave his wardrobe one last glare before sighing and sitting own heavily on the edge of his bed. As he was brooding –because that's how sexy men pouted –he heard something clatter around in the living room. He stiffened, straining automatically to listen in on every hush of the breeze. There was the faint pad-pad-pad of something. It made his gut twist. Clutching his phone in his hand he eased himself off the bed and edged towards the door that led into the hallway.

Nothing moved.

Grinding his teeth together, he slid silently along the polished wood floor towards the living room. As he poked his head around the doorway he narrowed his eyes, taking in his surroundings. It didn't _look_ like anything was amiss. There was definitely nowhere for another person to hide –not really. Just as he was about to relax and chalk it up to his imagination, he saw a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye.

(17:03) **There's a cat in my flat.**

(17:06) _Is this a euphemism or something?_

(17:10) **No, brat, there is literally a cat in my flat.**

(17:15) _Is it wearing a hat?_

(17:17) **What the –No it is NOT wearing a HAT.**

(17:20) _Then it is not my cat._

(17:25) **What the fuck are you on?**

(17:30) _Cat in the hat? Green eggs and ham? Are you not getting this ever-so-vague Dr. Seuss reference?_

(17:34) _Wow … And I thought my childhood was dull._

(17:38) **I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT GREEN EGGS AND BLOODY HAM!**

(17:41) **THERE IS A SODDING CAT IN MY FLAT AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!**

(17:45) _You've probably scared it half to death with all this rage-texting._

(17:49) **Shut up brat! Now tell me what to do!**

(17:53 _) Jeez, Levi, I don't know!_

(17:56) _I'd call but I'm out with Armin._

(17:58) _Why not call Hange?_

(18:01) **Because I JUST got rid of her.**

(18:04) _Well what do you want me to do about it?_

(18:08) **I don't know –pest control?**

(18:10) _Isn't that basically what Mike is?_

(18:15) **FUCK YOU! Don't make me laugh when I'm freaking out!**

(18:17) _Levi, it's a cat. Just throw it out._

(18:20) **Eren, I'm on the third floor. How the FUCK did it get IN?!**

(18:23) _I'm not a cat whisperer, you know._

Levi growled down at his phone. He gripped it tightly, willing himself not to throw it at the wall. The cat stopped washing its leg and peered up at him, its wide yellow eyes not flinching or blinking. Levi glared down at it.

Nothing.

He didn't know how long he stared at the cat, daring it to move. It only blinked slowly, having grown bored, and then went back to licking its leg. Insolent thing! Grabbing it by the scruff of the neck, he carried it to his front door and left.

He banged on Issy's door not two minutes later, imapatiently tapping his foot as the cat hung like a furry sack, it's legs splayed out not even bothering to squirm or attempt to free itself. The lock turned. Isabel poked her head around the doorframe.

"Oh hi Lev –AH!"

"Happy Birthday," he said, tossing the cat inside her door. It landed softly on its feet before turning to peer up at Issy. It gave a soft 'meow', rubbed up against her leg and then padded down the hall as though it knew exactly where to go.

"Levi! What the hell is this?!"

"A cat."

"Well –I don't want it!"

"Well I'm leaving. So congratulations; you got a cat."

"But –"

He didn't give her a chance to argue. He pulled her door closed and then made his way back down the corridor to his own flat. He still had so much packing to do. His phone started vibrating in his pocket, no doubt Isabel was calling him to yell about having a cat thrown in her face. He ignored the call and put it on silent. It took him only forty more minutes to pack and make sure everything had been shut off and every window and door was locked. One last glance from his front door determined that, yes, he was ready.

Time to go.

 **23:15PM**

The sky was pitch black as he pulled into the driveway. The windows of the converted stable were blacked out and nothing stirred in the shadows. There were some crickets chirping in the meadow across the road. It was the only other noise that filled the air. Levi opened his car door and stepped out onto the gravel path, stretching his arms and legs. He usually stopped off for something to eat and a walk-about on the drive, but he hadn't bothered this time. He'd wanted to get to his 'cottage' as soon as possible. He was regretting it now though as the prospect of unpacking everything, turning on the amenities and getting the heating on would all take at least half an hour.

Not to mention –he was desperate for a bath.

Sighing, he went to the boot and unloaded his cases and shouldered his laptop bag. He jolsted the lot up to the front door and managed to unlock the door and kick the door open, dragging the cases inside. Making sure to lock the car, he shut his front door and flicked the hallway light on.

The place smelled damp.

That's what happened when you didn't visit a place and live in it for a few months. It twisted his insides. If all went according to plan, in thirty years he'd move in permenantly. He loved the cottage. The old oak floorboards were well worn but seldom creaked under his weight. To the left of the main door there was a small bathroom, to the right there was a corridor with a door carved into it, edged with thick wooden beams. Behind that door there was a steep staircase that led up to the two large bedrooms that were situated down opposite ends of the hallway. There was a huge kitchen and and open-plan living room. Dotted here and there were large rugs in solid colours. It wasn't monochromatic like everyone accused him of. There was a deep maroon one in the living room and a deep blue one in his bedroom. The second bedroom was used mainly for storage but he was sure there was a purple rug in there … _somewhere_.

"Goddamn damp," he groused, shuffling his way down the hall and into the main body of the cottage. He made his way into the kitchen, opened the small cupboard in the corner of the counter, and started flicking switches on. The boiler rumbed to life, water and gas rushing to flood through the pipes and heat the place.

He kept his coat on as retreated to the door for his cases.

It was always awkward dragging them up the staircase –it seemed to grow narrower every time –Levi wrestled his way down the hall towards the main bedroom. He was eager to get to bed. He'd saved up and spent a decent amount of money on his bed and mattress and he had to admit, it was the best bed he'd ever slept in. Flicking the light on, he barely cast the rest of the room a glance as he opened both cases and started to unpack. It was only for two weeks but the weather was still sharp and cold. Thick jumpers were essential!

He took his time hanging things up and folding them away into drawers. By the time he was done the heating had warmed the cottage up and he had to shed his multiple layers just to breathe out. It was almost 1AM by the time he had eaten and fully settled into bed with his book and a cup of tea within arms reach.

That's when he remembered; his phone was still on silent!

Turning the screen on, he grimaced as he saw the alerts; 13 missed calls, and 27 texts from Isabel, Farlan and a few from Eren.

' _Goddamn them all_ ,' he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He opted to reply to no one but Eren. He didn't need the kid to worry about him getting stuck in a ditch or on the shoulder of the motorway with a flat tyre.

(00:54) **Hey kid, sorry I didn't reply right away. Just wanted to let you know I got here safe.**

(00:59) _Oh hey. I was starting to worry. As you can tell._

(1:03) **I noticed. 9 messages? You're getting better.**

(1:06) _Don't be mean._

(1:07) **Sorry.**

(1:10) _So when did you arrive?_

(1:13) **Half eleven I think? It took a while to get the place warmed up, then I had to unpack, shower and eat.**

(1:16) _And you didn't want to text?_

(1:18) **It wasn't a conscious decision. I had it on silent and just completely forgot about it until now.**

(1:20) _I see. So what did you do with the cat in the end? Is it house-sittng for you?_

(1:22) **Don't be absurd.**

(1:24) **I knocked on Issy's door. Threw it at her.**

(1:25) **She wasn't pleased.**

(1:27) _Haha! Oh, I bet she wasn't! Jeez, Levi you're awful!_

(1:29) **Come on now, not once did I pretend to be anything else.**

(1:31) _You're not awful to me :3_

(1:33) **Mmm well. The fact that you like me surely says enough. I've corrupted you!**

(1:35) _Maybe I like being corrupted ;)_

(1:37) **ENOUGH with the emoticons! You're not five years old.**

(1:40) _And you're not in your eighties so stop griping!_

Levi chuckled to himself as he stared at Eren's message. It was hard to believe that just over three months ago he'd had a full-on conversation with a random person on his birthday. Now? Now he felt as though his entire world had been knocked off kilter and for the first time ever, it didn't bother him.

Well, not that much at least.

Running his thumb down the side of his phone he quickly typed out another message. His eyes were starting to feel tired and he wanted to curl up and read his book. He didn't plan on sleeping, unless by some miracle it crept up on him out of the blue, however he wanted to shut his mind off.

(1:47) **I should probably get some sleep, kid. It's been a long day.**

(1:49) _I wish I were with you. Then at least then, I wouldn't miss you as much._

(1:50) **Even if I stuck you in the spare room?**

(1:53) _Especially then, because at least I'd get to see you at breakfast!_

(1:56) **You're a cheeky shit, you know that.**

(1:58) _Yeah but … you love it!_

(2:03) **If I was used to sleeping AT ALL you would exhaust the shit out of me.**

(2:05) **As it stands I do actually feel tired right now. So I'll ask you nicely; will you PLEASE let me sleep you incessant little shit?**

(2:07) _Awww_ _and it started out so well!_

(2:08) **EREN!**

(2:10) _Fine! Go to sleep! Leave me to wallow in my own loneliness!_

(2:13) **Goodnight.**

(2:14) …

(2:14) _You heartless bastard._

(2:16) **Only for you.**

* * *

 **A/N: Do we still love me and these gorgeous boys? I think we do ;)**


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: Time for another little update for your Sunday night :) Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

 **Wednesday PM**

Eren fidgeted with his hands in his lap.

Tonight was the night. He'd been psyching himself up for it for the last week since before the holidays began, and he was finally going to sit his parents down over dinner and tell them about Levi. At least, that was the plan. For all he knew, he wouldn't even be able to get the words out. He tried to take deep calming breaths, but nothing seemed to settle his mind.

His leg kept jiggling.

If Mikasa was here she'd have swatted something over his head by now.

He hadn't told Levi about his plans but now he was kicking himself for not doing so. He craved the older man's nonchalant attitude to cut through the muddle buzzing in his mind. He'd have calmed Eren without even meaning to, and that was one of the things that Eren adored about the older man.

' _Do I really need to do this?_ ' he thought to himself as he flopped back onto his bed. ' _It's not like we're officially a couple. Levi made that clear at my birthday._ '

That was a dilemma in itself. Maybe he could just mention to his parents that he liked someone? At least then that would give them ample warning for when he'd bring Levi home to meet them one day. He could picture _that_ dinner all too clearly; the good way and the bad way. On the one hand his parents could be civil and even open-up to getting on with Levi, even if the older man was overly serious at the best of times. On the flipside they could easily fire uncomfortable questions at Levi and get to the point where either his dad would storm out, or Levi would.

Obviously, he wouldn't want that.

' _Maybe I should talk to Levi about it_ ,' he thought, fingering the phone on his stomach.

There wouldn't be any bad side to letting Levi know what was going on in his mind. He needed to pave the way for when they were a couple. He didn't want to suddenly freak his parents out and have them treat him like a silly teenager just discovering the 'dangers' of the internet.

He had yet to dial Levi's number.

The whole notion still made him feel anxious. To have someone as amazing as Levi in his life just -it made his heart ache. The sheer distance between them had quadrupled in size since the older man had relocated to his little cottage for the Easter break. Even though it had only been two days, Eren was keenly aware of the distance. It was no longer just a one-hour train ride away, and that thought ate at him from the inside.

' _Should I call him?_ '

What if he was busy? What if he was out having a walk and enjoying the fresh air? His insides were fizzing awkwardly inside him. What was the big deal? It wasn't even that big a deal when he'd come-out to his parents -at least it didn't compare in the same way. He almost wished he were a girl.

Mikasa hadn't had these issues.

Even though Reiner turned out to be a brute who needed a restraining order, but Eren didn't believe Levi would ever put or be put in a similar position. He had established a career for himself, a career that he loved, and had gone through Hell and back in order to achieve a stable lifestyle. He was ambitious and persistent, and he could only hope that his parents could look past the age-gap and appreciate all those good qualities.

' _It'll be fine!_ ' his brain soothed. ' _You're over-thinking!_ '

Well, if that wasn't the understatement of the century!

Eren groaned and tossed over onto his front, burrowing his head into his pillows and screaming. The frustration was like a volcano inside his belly. Why was this so hard? He'd never stressed this much over any test before. Why did this one matter so much?

' _Because Levi is important to you_.'

The thought had him whimper again into the pillow. None of this was news to him! The only reason he could come to as to why it was causing him this much mental exhaustion, was because his parents were important, and Levi was important, and to both of them he was just some stupid kid.

Did … Levi really believe he was stupid?

A fleeting memory of them curled up in a hotel bed, so close, so shrouded in sleep and their own kisses -the way Levi had looked at him -touched him ...

No. Levi had been sincere.

"Levi …" he sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "I wish you could bottle that cool confidence and give it to me. Could really use some right now."

He ran a hand down his face.

' _Suppose I should get this over with_ ,' he sighed heavily and hauled himself off the bed. The sky outside was darkening ever-so-slightly. He'd heard his mum come home a little while ago; she was shuffling about doing whatever she did when she thought she was alone. Reading, probably. Dad wouldn't be home for another hour at least. Eren had never know the house to be so quiet and still. He was used to having Armin and Mikasa around most of the time, watching films, doing homework or going out on bike rides. True, they hadn't done the latter for at least two years, but he would have liked to have the option.

He passed an hour away, tinkering away on the computer until he heard his mum call up to him.

" _Eren! Dinner's ready!_ "

"Coming mum!" he called back. "Time to get this over with," he muttered to himself as he smoothed his hair down and traipsed downstairs.

~0~

Grisha poured himself another glass of wine and directed his attention back to the plate of food before him. His circular glasses gleamed in the light as he conversed with Carla, a thin smile on his lips. Eren watched from across the table, his heart beating so hard in his chest he was sure he could hear his ribcage cracking with every thump. His palms were sweating, and his knee was bruised from where his leg kept jiggling.

' _I can do this_ ,' he said for the umpteeth time. ' _All I need to do is find the right opening_.'

He continued to push the food around on his plate. It all tasted like cardboard. His dad must have noticed because he frowned over at his son. "Eren, is there something on your mind?"

This was it.

"Um … why do you ask?"

"You haven't eaten properly all night and your leg is bouncing so hard the table is shaking."

Eren bit down on his lip, his cheeks heating up. Damn, so he'd noticed then? Fuck.

"Um … I did have something I wanted to talk to you both about," he started. He didn't dare look up at them. The tension in the air grew thick as they looked at him, waiting for what came next. It did nothing to settle his nerves. His mouth suddenly felt dry, his tongue sticking to the sides and refusing to budge.

"Has something happened at Uni?" his mum asked.

Eren shook his head, "No, school's fine just a little tiring. Studying with Armin only helps so much."

"You just need to keep pushing, love."

"It's not Uni I wanted to talk about."

Grisha frowned, "Is is the driving lessons? Because if you feel pressured maybe you should stop them for now?"

"Well I barely manage once a week anyway," Eren groused, "but that's not what I wanted to talk about either."

"Well I'm sure whatever it is your dad and I can share some insight," his mum said brightly. "Anything to help take the weight of your mind."

"It's -see the thing is -it's about a guy."

"A guy?" Grisha frowned.

Eren nodded.

"Well what about this 'guy'?"

"Well … I've been talking to him for a while," he hedged. "It's not serious or anything but -I'd like it to be at some point."

"Eren," Grisha began, firmly. "Right now, you need to focus on your studies. Relationships can wait."

"I'm aware of that," Eren stated. "We've discussed it at length. He said he's fully prepared to wait and that he knows how hard Uni and dissertations are, especially for me, so he said we wouldn't be involved until after I graduate."

"Well at least he's sensible about your studying," his mum said.

Grisha, however, narrowed his eyes. "What does this 'guy' do for a living? Is he studying too?"

"N-no," the lump was back in Eren's throat. He tried to swallow past it, but it wouldn't budge. "See, that's one of the things I wanted to mention. He's a little bit older than me and already has a full-time job."

"Well, you're young Eren," Carla placated. "You're going to find all manner of people attractive, some are going to be a little older and some are going to be a little younger. What does he do for a living?"

"He's a teacher."

She frowned. "Not one of your own, I hope?"

"Oh no, no! He teaches secondary school kids."

Carla pursed her lips. Clearly being a teacher in any school didn't bode well, but she kept her mouth shut about it. For now. There was a gleam in her eyes that told Eren that matter would be revisited soon.

Grisha looked as though he was sucking on a lemon. "How did you two meet?" he asked in a clipped tone.

"I … accidently messaged his number on Christmas day because of my new phone."

"So all this time you've been texting a stranger? A teacher?" Grisha barked out. Carla and Eren flinched but didn't look him in the eye. "For all you know he's fifty years old, Eren! What were you thinking?!"

Eren didn't get a chance to speak.

"No, I tell you what -you weren't thinking!" he snapped. "There is no way to know what sort of dangers you put yourself in contacting this man!"

"He's not dangerous!" Eren snapped, clenching his fists on the table.

"How do you know?!" Grisha yelled. "You're just a kid, Eren!"

"No, I'm not! I'm twenty-one! I know how to handle my life, Dad!"

"You have been texting a stranger and -knowing you -giving personal information! Don't be stupid Eren! You're putting yourself in danger!"

"He's not dangerous, Dad!"

"How do you know that, Eren?!"

"Because I've met him!"

The silence dropped like a stone.

Carla stared between them with wide eyes.

Grisha had veins throbbing in his neck and temples. He ground his teeth together and stared down, cold and hard, at his son. In a low, clipped tone he asked, "What do you mean you've 'met him'?"

"I … we …" Eren fumbled, the words jarring and messing up in his head. His heart was drumming so loudly in his ears that he couldn't think straight. "I met him. Once. Up London. We -we spent the day together."

"Was this the day you said you were with Armin?" Carla asked with a frown. Eren glanced at her before giving a nod. "Oh, Eren!"

"I … I didn't want you to worry," he admitted meekly. "I just had to meet him for myself. To know if … if it was all real."

"And?"

"It was …"

Carla gave a fleeting, watery smile that quickly crumbled.

"I'm sorry," Eren said, "I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Nevertheless, you did," Grisha snapped, his voice hard and cutting through the calming air. The tension immediately spiked through Eren, making his head twitch to the side. "Have you seen him more than the once?"

"I … We meet up for brunch every Saturday."

" _That's_ where you go?"

Eren bowed his head.

"What do you do there? Let him touch you under the table?!"

"Dad, no! We study!"

"Ha! What do you study?"

"I work on my dissertation and he makes lesson plans. Then he … He offers to help me."

"That's dishonest, Eren!"

"OH FOR GODS SAKE DAD!" Eren snapped, clawing his hands through his hair. "He doesn't give me answers or ideas, he just proof reads things for me! He takes an interest in me and what I study! Why is that so wrong?"

Grisha narrowed his eyes. "You are not to see that man anymore."

Eren's head snapped up. "I … What?!"

"You heard me. You are not to see him again."

"I -Dad -you can't stop me from seeing him! I'm not a little kid!"

"As long as you live under my roof, you'll obey my rules. Now go to your room. I don't want to look at you anymore."

Eren was seething. Every muscle was throbbing with anger. He kicked his chair until it clattered against the kitchen counter. "You're an arsehole! You have no idea how much he means to me! How much he cares for me, because he does care!"

"The matter is closed Eren. Go to your room."

"Don't TREAT ME like one of your fucking patients!"

Tears were streaming down his red cheeks. He was hot, flustered and could barely see straight. In the end he glared at his parents as Grisha settled back down at the table, effectively ignoring his son. There were no words. He left the kitchen but was stopped in the doorway by Grisha snapping his fingers.

"Your phone, Eren."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Watch your mouth when you speak to me," came the measured reply. Grisha barely looked up from his plate as he held out his hand. "Your phone, Eren."

The matter was final.

Eren dug in his pocket and with a trembling hand, gave his phone to his dad. It was as though every second hammered an extra nail into his heart.

He stormed up to his room, banging against every surface along the way. How dare they?! How was it any of their business who he talks to and who he meets up with? He's an adult -if he could afford to move-out he probably would have done so already.

He slammed his bedroom door shut.

His skull was burning up from the inside. His heart ached like a throbbing rock in his chest. He screwed his eyes up, breathing hard, as he paced back and forth, his blood roaring in his ears. They'd taken his phone away. Thank GOD it was password protected. As far as he'd seen he'd not had much battery left, either, so that was a plus.

As long as they didn't see any of his texts to Levi he could take some solace in it.

It wasn't enough, though.

His chest felt tight. It was hard to breathe.

He had no way of telling Levi about what had happened. He hadn't been active online for weeks. He could e-mail the man, but did he even check his e-mails when he was away at his cottage? It hurt to think there was still so much Eren didn't know about him.

'Just breathe!' he urged, 'Just breathe and try to think!'

It didn't work.

His head was spinning, and he felt like he was going to be sick. Snot and tears were staining his face. Exhaustion hit his body in waves, one after the other, crashing into him. He dropped back down onto his bed, arms thrown over his eyes as sobs ripped out of his raw throat. Tears leaked down into his hair.

He wished Mikasa was here.

She'd have checked in on him and asked if he was okay. If he didn't want to speak, she'd have just sat with him, stroked his hair and been a calming presence to settle his mind. A tremor ran through his body. Drawing in deep breaths, he hiccoughed and sucked wet air into his lungs. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball under his bedclothes and cry himself to sleep.

That sounded like a plan.

~0~

 **Friday AM**

Waking up, Levi took his time to shower, dress and eat breakfast before doing something he rarely did and stretched out across the sofa with the newspaper opened in his lap. He had a mug of steaming tea on the coffee table within arm's reach. The TV was a mere hum in the background. He was calm; he had nowhere to be and nothing to do. All he had to do was read the newspaper.

Until his phone beeped.

Grinding his teeth a little, he made a point of ignoring it. He managed to even turn the page before another message came through. ' _Just ignore it,_ ' he thought. ' _It can't be that important_.'

 _ **Beep!**_

 _ **Beep!**_

 _ **Beep!**_

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" he sneered, tossing the paper to one side and grabbing his phone off the table. He swiped the screen open and scrolled through his messages; two from Armin -a number he'd saved in case of emergencies -one from Issy, and another one from Hange which was unrelated to the others. To be expected.

 _Armin:_

(10:03) _Hi Levi it's Armin. Eren's friend. I was wondering if you'd heard from him in the last few days?_

(10:06) _Only his parents called asking where he was, and I don't know anything. Was hoping he was with you._

 _ **Issy:**_

(10:05) _**Hey sour-puss (yes that's a pun for the gift you THREW AT ME!) just wondering if you'd heard from Eren?**_

(10:07) _**He messaged me asking where your cottage was so … was hoping he'd gone to you?**_

Levi felt his stomach drop.

Eren was missing?

He dialled Eren's number. His body heated up as he pressed the phone to his ear only to listen to Eren's outgoing message;

' _Hey this is Eren! Sorry I can't come to the phone right now but I'm studying so text me! I'm more likely to reply! BYE!_ '

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath before ending the call. He dialled again. Same message. Again? Same message. After two more attempts he tossed his phone into the arm of the sofa. "Jesus fucking Christ!" He raked a hand through his emaculate hair before drawing in deep, soothing breaths. Pressing his lips together, he grabbed his phone and scrolled through it again, this time dialling Isabel's number.

She answered on the third ring.

" _Hey Levi, did you get my text?_ "

"Yes, I've just tried to call his phone. It's going straight through to voicemail."

" _Shit_ ," she hissed. " _Did he mention anything to you about going away with friends or something?_ "

"No. According to his friend, Armin, he's just gone off without saying a word." Levi sighed. He ran a hand over his mouth and sighed. "When did he message you?"

" _Um let me see_." There was the sound of keys being tapped. " _He messaged me just after midnight. So, if nothing else it would have been just in time to get the last train, if there was one. If not … He probably slept at the train station_."

"Holy shit," Levi had horrid images of Eren huddled down like some tramp in one of the narrow, steel chairs that lined along most platforms. At the very least if it was a central station there was a chance of proper shelter. It was still frigid out most evenings. Levi's insides cramped with panic. "Can you check for me? Were there any direct trains up here that late at night?"

" _Let me see_."

The sound of distant tapping keys echoed down the landline. ' _Come on Isabel_ ,' he silently urged.

" _It looks like the cheapest one-way ticket up to Lincoln would have been from half nine this morning_."

"Right?"

" _Well it should come in just before midday_."

Levi glanced down at his watch. "Okay that gives me half an hour to get to the station. If he doesn't have his phone he's going to be vulnerable. I'll let you know how things go okay? Maybe you could message Armin or Mikasa or something? Just let them know what's going on?"

" _Got it covered, already sent messages to both. Hurry up, or he'll have half a mind to leave the station_."

"I'll let you know if he comes through."

" _Go!_ "

Levi ended the call.

The drive to the train station took about twenty-five minutes thanks to the traffic. The holiday-makers wanting a week get-away always pissed him off however now it was a matter of urgency. As he sat at a red light, his mind raced at all the possible horrors that could have befallen Eren on the journey. It wasn't even a direct train -he'd have to have changed at some point.

It was nearly midday.

Levi slammed his horn. "Move! The light's fucking green!" he yelled at no one in particular. The queue was horrendous, and it only served to irritate his nerves even more. He wanted to get to the station and see if Eren _was_ there. Then he could hug the kid and make sure he was alright. Or smack him. Whichever one was more appropriate at the time. Although he was more likely to get arrested for running over the tops of the cars in the traffic jam if he wasn't careful.

"Soon, Eren. I'll be there soon."

He made it to the station car-park in the next eight minutes. The longest eight minutes of driving history. He parked in the short-stay lot which was right out front of the station. He pulled the collar of his coat up high and took a look at the crowds milling around, straining his eyes for a sign of messy brown hair.

' _Come on, kid,_ ' he thought, frowning, ' _You are half giant, I should be able to see you_.'

He was growing impatient. He could feel it thrumming through his muscles. He sucked his cheeks in and rotated left to right, keeping an eye on the people coming up and down the staircase, in and out of the platform doorways -yet none of them looked like Eren. A chill wind rippled the back of his coat. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled up. Turning around he kept his eyes trained on Platform 3. As if on cue, a new rush of passengers came out of the doorway, all bundled up in black and grey woollen coats. Thick scarves and wind-swept hair breezed past him as he craned his neck to keep an eye out for Eren. Then he saw it.

The mop of messy brown hair.

Bright green eyes that looked as worried as he felt.

 _Eren!_

Keeping his eyes on the tall kid, Levi shoved his way through the throng of people. They glared at him but he glared right back, his grey eyes making them shrink away and mutter under their breath. "Eren!" he called out.

Green eyes looked around in recognition.

"Levi?"

Levi waved his arm, drawing closer to the tall man. "Eren over here!"

A relieved smile broke over the brat's face as he hurried through the small cluster of people before he reached Levi. He was grinning so widely that the slap Levi delivered took him by complete surprise.

"Jesus Levi what the f-?"

"You stupid brat!" Levi snapped, all the anger rushing out. His hand stung but he didn't care. "How could you worry me like that? What were you thinking?"

Eren was silent for a moment before swallowing thickly.

Before he could reply, Levi grabbed the young man's wrist and pulled him into a hug. Eren blinked through his surprise as Levi murmured 'stupid brat' and 'dumb kid' into his hair. It shouldn't have made him feel as warm as it did, but after the night he'd had, just having Levi there was welcome enough.

With or without the slap.

Eren wrapped his arms around Levi and squeezed him extra tight, making sure he was real. "I didn't mean to spring this on you," he said as they pulled away from one another. Walking side-by-side they made their way out of the station towards the carpark. Eren stopped, frowning. "Wait, how did you know where to find me? Or even that I was coming?"

Levi turned and sighed. "Armin messaged me. As did Issy. She told me you'd asked where my cottage was, and we figured it out from there."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, that makes sense," he said sheepishly.

Levi watched the brunette cower under the weight of it all. It made emotions stir in his chest. "Come on, kid. Let's get into my car. You look shattered."

Eren smiled gratefully and followed the shorter man towards his car.

They bundled inside, the heating wafting over them as Levi started the engine. It rumbled to life and within minutes they were pulling back out onto the main road. The clouds were a steely grey colour that hurt the eyes to look at them too long. It gave Eren a headache. He was still frozen from the long night sleeping in the train station. He'd missed the last train by three sodding minutes and it had put him in a very bitter mood. Now that he was with Levi, however, that feeling had been pushed to the back of his mind. As Levi drove them through the streets, Eren felt his eyelids drift closed.

He didn't know how long the drive was, but when he opened his eyes they had stopped in front of a two-storey building made of red bricks and thick black beams around the windows and roof. It looked modern even with the flagstone garden out front and the small plant pots on either side of the door. Even from outside Eren could tell that the place was Levi's. It just lookd emaculate.

"This is your cottage?" he asked through a yawn as he climbed out and stretched his aching muscles. He could really use a nap.

"Yes," Levi said, taking his house-keys out of his pocket. He opened the black front-door and led the way inside. Eren gasped at the rush of warm air that hit him. The place smelled homey and it made his insides twist. Levi took his coat and scarf from him and hung them up in a small cupboard off to one side.

"So, do I get the grand tour?" Eren asked with a cheeky smile.

Levi stiffened from hanging his own jacket. Turning to Eren he folded his arms over his chest. "No," he said, hating the way the smile dropped from the brat's face. "You're going to go upstairs to the spare room and have a nap."

"But I feel wide awake now!"

Okay, that was a lie. Eren was desperate to sleep on something soft and clean.

Levi narrowed his eyes, "Don't argue with me, brat. Go upstairs and have a nap. You look wrecked."

Eren's shoulders slumped. "Fine," he sighed. "Which room is the spare one?"

"The spare room is on the right, with a bathroom next door. You might find a spare toothbrush in there, too."

Eren pressed his lips together to restrain a smile. "Thank you."

He was just about to mount the narrow staircase when Levi tapped his arm. Glancing down, Eren saw the man holding out his mobile. "Type in your parents' number."

"Um … Why?"

"So I can let them know you're safe."

"No, I don't want you to talk to them! Not like this!"

"Do you want to do it?" Eren hesitated, the look of fear in those green eyes. It tore at Levi's heart. "I thought not. Now, give me their number. I'm not going to cause an argument, I just want to let them know you're safe, so we don't have a man-hunt on our hands, okay?"

Eren sighed and took the phone. He typed in the landline to his parents' house and handed it back to Levi. "There you go."

"Good. Now, upstairs and have a nap. There's no rush for you to come back down. Take your time."

"But … don't you want to know why I -?"

"Take your time, Eren," Levi insisted. "There's plenty of time for us to discuss things later, when you're more rested, alright?"

A swell of adoration rushed through Eren. It left him feeling warm and excited and oh, so eager to rest and hang onto that feeling whilst he slept. "Okay."

He watched Levi for a moment longer before the older man clearly got a little uncomfortable and nodded before turning to walk down the hall. Eren watched until the older man had turned out of sight before making his way up the stairs towards the spare room. Once there, he barely had time to kick off his trainers, jeans and hoodie before collapsing into the bed and moaning loudly as the plush duvet engulfed him.

* * *

 **A/N: Did you liiiike? x**


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: Since you've all been sooooo eager for the next chapter, I hope you guys like this update! Brace yourselves for drama and feelies!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

 **Friday PM**

.

.

Eren felt a lot better when he woke up.

Perhaps it was due to waking up in a warm room in a plush bed, with the curtains drawn against the bleak sky outside and a small lamp lit from the other end of the room. Turning over onto his back, he stretched out across the mattress and let the fragments of memory align in his head. The fact that he was now curled up in Levi's Lincoln cottage was something he hadn't originally planned for his Easter break; however, it wasn't an unwelcome adventure.

The room was so pleasantly warm, smelling ever-so-slightly of cinnamon. The duvet was like a marshmallow melted over him. It was so luxurious!

Craning his head to the side, he took in his surroundings; dark wooden beams lined the ceilings, the sidetables matching with gunmetal lamps with black shades. The bed itself had a dark frame, with a deep, berry-red duvet cover. It almost looked like blood -or cherry sauce!

There were no pictures on the walls.

Levi clearly wasn't the sentimental type.

Shifting up on the pillows, Eren raked a hand through his hair. Through the narrow gap in the curtains he could see that the sky had grown dark. It must be quite late. Nerves knotted inside him. He wondered if Levi had called his parents at all? And what they'd said, if he had? Eren bowed his head, feeling ashamed that he'd disturbed Levi's time of relaxation for a matter, which seemed trivial at best. He'd acted like a spoiled teenager and run-away from home. How pathetic was he? He tugged at the covers, dragging his knees up to his chest. He hoped that Levi wasn't going to be mad or lecture him.

' _You have to face him some time,_ ' the logical part of his mind said.

His shoulders sagged.

There was nothing for it.

His stomach growled, effectively deciding his fate. He was hungry, dying of thirst and had been asleep for the better part of the day. He needed to be a responsible grown-up for once and deal with the consequences of his actions.

Sliding over to the edge of the bed, he dropped his legs onto the floor. He was surprised to feel a thick, plush rug under his feet, cushioning any creaks that may have occurred. As silly as it was, he didn't want to alert Levi just yet. He wanted those few, extra moments to himself to gather his, still sleepy, thoughts. The landing wasn't wide beyond his bedroom door, but it was carpeted, unlike what he'd seen of downstairs. All the wood was varnished a deep, dark colour. Not quite black, but it was rich and warm.

Glancing across the hall Eren stared at an identical door to his own. This one was ajar. Nudging it open with his foot, he poked his head around the doorframe. This room was pristine, as though no one had stepped foot inside for ages. However, a few details betrayed that Levi had indeed been living there; the last Harry Potter book on the nightstand with a glasses case on top, and a small case propped up underneath the window. A slightly sweet scent hung in the air, like raspberries.

Eren milled down along the landing until he reached the top of the stairs. He only got about halfway down when he heard -voices? Or more specifically, Levi's voice talking on the phone to someone. Eren bit his bottom lip as he crept down a couple more steps to get within earshot of the phone call.

~0~

Levi stared at his phone for a long-time. It was like he was awaiting the thing to sprout teeth and snap at his fingers. He felt as though he was putting off the inevitable. He needed to call Eren's parents, it needed to be done sooner rather later to put their minds at ease that, at the very least, their son was safe. Although he couldn't deny that his apprehension was mostly due to his dread at having to explain such a delicate situation to his parents. He had no real idea of how Eren's parents would react. Would they be angry? Would they shriek? Would they demand to get the police involved? Were the police already involved, regardless of the facts?

He'd get no answers without calling that number.

He wasn't usually nervous. A part of him wanted to interact with Eren's parents the right way, the proper way. A formal introduction, preferably over dinner or something to that effect. Not calling them up to let them know that their run-away adult son was safe-and-sound with his much older, not really, boyfriend.

No, he didn't foresee this going well.

His fingers hovered over the keys for a little while longer before he finally pressed on the 'CALL' button. The dial tone was loud and alarming in his ears. Finally, someone answered. A man.

" _Hello?"_

Levi felt sweat break out over his skin. He sat up a little straight. The voice down the other end was cold and authoritative. " _Hello, am I speaking to Mr. Jaeger?_ " God, he felt like he was speaking at a parents-eve meeting.

" _Yes_ ," came the terse reply. " _Who is this?_ "

"My name is Levi Ackerman. I -Your son is safe."

There was a moment of silence. " _You're the one he's been seeing, aren't you?_ "

Levi froze, gripping the phone. Eren had told his parents, then? Swallowing thickly, Levi tried to keep his voice level; "I don't think that's what's important right now. I just wanted to let you know that Eren is safe. I'll get him to call you first thing tomorrow."

" _You will put him on right now_!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. Your son had a rough night last night and he's sleeping it off right now."

" _Shut your damn mouth and wake him up!_ "

"Sir, if you would just -"

" _Don't you talk down to me, you sick bastard!_ " the man yelled in his ear. " _How old are you anyway? Forty? Older? You keep the fuck away from my son do you hear?!"_

"That would he hard considering he's asleep in my bed," Levi couldn't help but quip.

" _I'M GOING TO CALL THE POLICE DO YOU HEAR?"_

"And tell them what?" Levi snapped. He hadn't meant to, he'd meant to be the bigger person but there was something about this man that ripped at his nerves. "That your adult son stormed out because of your attitude? That he went over to a friend's house to feel safe? Doesn't that speak more about your actions rather than your sons?!"

" _WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO -?"_

"Call the police and tell them what you want, Mr. Jaeger. They won't do a thing. No laws have been broken and your son can do as he pleases. As long as he doesn't feel safe under your roof and around you, I will make it my _duty_ to ensure that he feels safe with me. Good day."

He wished he had a landline, so he could feel the satisfaction of slamming a phone down. Pressing a red button was hardly a great end to a call like that.

A creak came from behind.

He spun around just in time to see Eren edging into the doorway. He must have been listening on the stairs. Levi felt himself flush with embarrassment at having been caught in the act. Swallowing, he glanced at the phone in his hand before looking back up at Eren. The kid didn't seem to notice that he was only wearing a shirt and a pair of boxers.

"I take it you heard that then," he stated.

Eren bowed his head, looking embarrassed. "I -caught the last bit of it, yeah."

"I'm sorry you had to hear any of it, to be honest," Levi grunted, tossing the phone aside. "It clearly didn't go well."

Eren sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "I'm assuming you got through to my dad then. He's -intense at the best of times." Levi scoffed but didn't comment. Eren looked over at the older man and felt warmth bubble in his chest. "Did you really mean what you said to him?"

"Hmm?"

"About you wanting to make me feel safe? With you?"

Levi looked up at him for a moment before a softness entered his features. "Yes, Eren, I did."

The brunette eased himself into a nearby chair and dropped his head into his hands. "I'm sorry to have put you through this during your time _away_ from stupid kids."

Levi gave a small smile. "It's fine. I'd rather you were here with me and safe, than whatever the alternative was going to be."

Eren looked up at the older man, overwhelming gratitude rushing through him. He felt a yawn ruin the moment and flushed a little as he struggled to contrain it. Levi quirked an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Instead, he straightened up and walked past Eren towards a room that turned out to be the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" he called over his shoulder.

"Um … sure."

Eren got up, stretched his arms and legs and followed Levi.

The kitchen was as monochromatic as Eren expected with the black-and-white checked tiles on the floor, the black tiles lining the narrow strip of wall between the counter top and the bottom of the cupboards. However, the colour of said cupboards was what threw him. They were bright lime green and glossed. Eren felt his jaw drop open as he turned on the spot, taking it all in. Lime green cupboards? That was so … unexpected. The counters had a sleek granite top, the tall fridge was huge and gunmetal grey. The only spots of colour were the glossy green doors.

"Close your mouth, kid, or you'll choke on flies."

Eren snapped his mouth shut before frowning. "There are no flies, it's too cold out."

Levi gave him a side-long smirk before returning his attention to what he was doing. After about five minutes he turned back to face Eren with a tray loaded with sandwiches and some fruit. Jerking his head to the doorway he said, "Go back in there so you can sit and eat. I only just cleaned the floor this morning."

Eren obliged, still stunned by the colour-shock.

Sitting on the edge of the sofa, Eren watched as Levi deflty wove his way around the coffee table, setting down the tray and drink on placemats and then moving to and from the kitchen for his own drink and then shifting a few things out of sight. It took Eren a few moments before he realised that Levi was nervous, and tidying was his copying-mechanism. Reaching out, Eren managed to wrap his fingers around the older man's forearm, halting him in his tracks.

Grey eyes found his in a heartbeat.

Slowly, he released his hold on a spare coaster and let Eren guide him down on the sofa beside him. He was ramrod stiff, rigid, and seemed to be breathing hard. "Sorry," he managed to say.

"It's okay," he said. "I just -you don't need to clean up for me."

Levi itched as his thigh in a distracted manner. "It's -habit, I guess."

They lapsed into silence.

Eren decided to fill it with eating, whist Levi fiddled with the TV remote, channel-surfing to calm himself. Eren focused on chewing his eyes watching the channels flicker before him. He had to bite back a smile as he felt the rigidity fizzle out of Levi's body. The hairs on the back of Eren's neck stood up a little; there was still the issue of his parents' phone-call to talk about. However, if the alternative was eating sandwiches on an amazingly plush sofa with Levi in his adorable cottage -well, it was hardly a contest, was it?

Once he'd finished eating, he leaned back to recline in the sofa and nearly jumped when he felt Levi's forearm on the back of his neck. He didn't mean to flinch, stomach cramping with dread in case the older man drew his arm back. Thankfully, he didn't. Despite how stiff he felt, Eren shifted over a few inches, sweating bravery out of every pore as he felt the solid muscle of Levi's chest press against his shoulder.

Oh! He'd forgotten how muscular he was!

He had to suppress a moan as he shifted so that his head tipped back onto Levi's arm. He waited, breath hitched, waiting for Levi to squirm out of reach, or to smack him upside the head. Nothing like that happened. It was cosy. Drop by drop, the tension ebbed out of both of them as they relaxed, watching a comedy rerun on the TV.

Eren allowed himself to get lost in the show, startling only a little when he felt deft, firm fingers stroking through the hair at the nape of his neck. It made excitement bubble in his stomach.

"Do you like that, Eren?" Levi purred in his ear.

Eren let out a small groan, letting his eyelids close as he tipped his head back completely, letting Levi's fingers slide deep and tangle in his hair. It was bliss! "I've missed this!" he groaned.

Levi chuckled. "I've not done this before."

"You have in my dreams," he said, inwardly cringing at how cheesy he sounded.

To his delight, another chuckle came from the older man. "Is that so?"

"Mhmmm."

Levi continued to card his fingers tightly through Eren's hair, massaging his scalp and eliciting the most delicious moans from the young man. It shouldn't have aroused him like it did, but there was no denying how his blood rushed south and boiled in his boxers. ' _Calm yourself_ ,' his brain ordered. ' _You need to remember why the brat is here in the first place_.'

His fingers slowed a little.

"Eren?"

"Mmmm yes Levi?"

"Are you ready to talk about what happened?"

The kid stiffened against his chest. That wasn't a good sign. Eren bowed his head a little, chewing on his bottom lip. Levi watched the kid's profile, his fingers still embedded within the dark brown tresses. He wasn't going to push. It wasn't like his parents knew where to find him. They even had his phone, there was no real way they could trace his location.

"You don't have to," Levi continued in a measured tone, "However, if either one of your parents gets back in contact or, Heaven forbid, the police then we need to discuss this."

"You don't think they'd call the police, do you?" Eren asked, turning his wide eyes to his companion.

Levi shot him a serious look, "They're your parents, kid, you tell me."

His shoulder's slumped. "I guess my dad would."

"He wasn't too happy when he called earlier."

"Thank you," Eren blushed a little, avoiding eye contact. "No one really stands up to him. It was … amazing, that you did."

Levi gave a small smile. He couldn't deny the sense of pride that threatened to sprout inside him. "I didn't like the way he spoke about you. It … bothered me."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault, kid. Besides, I was getting a little bored up here by myself," he said flippantly. "I'm almost glad to have you dropping by unannounced."

Eren had to bite back a grin.

He'd missed Levi's sarcasm.

Something poked him hard in the back of the head.

"Ow!" he whined, glaring up at the teacher who merely smirked at him. "Fine. I wanted to tell them that I sort of had a guy I liked. I wasn't planning to say anything major, just that there was a guy who I liked, who was respectful of my studying and had a full-time job, so he wasn't going to oppress me in any way and hinder my progress."

Levi nodded. "I'm guessing it didn't go as planned."

"No," Eren groused. "My mum seemed to accept it well-enough. She obviously wanted to know more but she seemed to know not to push. My dad on the other hand …"

"What happened?" Levi asked in a calm humming tone.

"He … flipped his shit. As soon as I said you were older he was on the paedophile-parade tangent and just got more idiotic as he went on."

"To what degree?"

"That you were probably an old pervert. That you were grooming me. That you were going to ruin my chances of graduating with a proper degree since I'm on the last leg of my dissertation."

Levi loathed to admit those were all logical arguments, bar one point. "So, what made you flip your shit, _exactly_?"

"He … He went mad when I blurted out that we'd met together up London and hadn't told them. Then that we'd practically been meeting every weekend since then and were actually productive."

"He didn't approve, I'm sure."

"Nope," Eren sighed, closing his eyes as though in pain at the memory. "He disapproved of everything and told me that I was never to see or contact you again and then _demanded_ that I give him my phone before going to my room."

"What are you? Twelve?"

"I know right?" He let out a long, weary sigh. "It doesn't matter. I had a bit of a meltdown and somehow managed to contact Issy during that time before sneaking out and heading to the train station."

"You didn't even tell Armin. Or your sister."

"It was all just a blur," Eren moaned. "I … I didn't know! I sort of went on instinct and didn't exactly plan it all out. By the time I got to the train station, I'd missed the last train and had no phone to call for help or let anyone know I was okay."

Levi looked down at the young man basically cradled against his chest. The low lights from the corner lamp made his skin glow gold, his bright eyes shrouded by thick lashes and his long, muscular legs stretched out long the length of the sofa. He had to stop himself from running his hands down the length of Eren's body sprawled before him on his black sofa. He ground his back teeth together to stop the thoughts from over-taking his mind.

"You're lucky I let Armin, Mikasa and Isabel know that you were fine as soon as I sent you off to bed."

Green eyes opened to peer up at him. "You're amazing you know?"

"Calm yourself, kid. I just didn't want them harassing me for answers as to where I'd buried your body."

Eren chuckled. God, he'd missed this. "Still on that train of thought, eh?"

Levi couldn't help but smirk a little. "What can I say? I'm consistent in my madness."

He didn't reply. He merely closed his eyes, a placated hum issuing from his throat as he burrowed closer against Levi, practically lying in the older man's lap. He'd missed being so close to him, to feel the curves of his muscles pressing up against his back muscles. The smell of his shower gel alone was intoxicating.

He felt his mind starting to drift, the weight of the last two days slowly evaporating from his brain. Despite having slept for a good portion of the afternoon, he wanted nothing more than to curl up warm and secure against Levi.

Something tapped him on the head.

"Come on, brat, think it's time you went back to sleep."

"Can I sleep on the sofa?"

"With a perfectly good bed upstairs? I think the fuck not."

Eren pouted but failed to hide a grin as he was practically ushered up to his room, trailing a little on the staircase as Levi shut-off everything downstairs, before emerging from the darkness to hound Eren the rest of the way up the stairs.

Lying in the dark, Eren listened to Levi pottering around in the room across the hall. The noises were muffled, but it was comforting to know that he was just two doors away if Eren needed him -for whatever reason. Curling up on his side, Eren sighed softly, the room around him shrouded in darkness. It was still warm and cosy, a pleasant change from his one night camped-out in a train station.

He was grateful Levi hadn't turned him away.

Or force him to go back home.

Levi had been so good to him.

Chewing on his bottom lip, Eren pushed his covers to one side and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His heart flipped in his chest as he tiptoed towards the door, lifted the old-fashioned latch, and eased the door open. The landing was dark beyond, but a thin strip of light shone from under Levi's door. He hesitated for a moment. Was he being presumptuous, going to Levi's bedroom like this? Steeling himself, he raised a hand and knocked.

" _Come in, kid_."

Pushing the door open, Eren blinked as he adjusted to the soft glow of the bedside lamp. Levi was sitting up against his pillows, glasses low on his nose with the Harry Potter book open in his lap. He let the book droop in his hands, as he quirked an eyebrow at the young man in his doorway.

"Can't sleep?" Eren shook his head. "Guess you'd better climb in, then."

The brat wasted no time in crossing the room and slipping under the covers, his sudden warmth sending a shiver running through Levi's body. "What're you reading?" Eren murmured softly, crawling onto the edge of Levi's pillow, his chin prodding at the older man's shoulder.

Levi hummed, his eyes drifting briefly to look down at Eren. "You can see very well what I'm reading."

"Which part are you up to?" Before he could answer, Eren chimed, "Oh! This is a good part!"

"No spoilers, brat."

Eren chuckled. "Hey, you know what we should do once you've finished the books?"

"Hmmm? You mean other than have a Harry Potter movie marathon?"

"Yes. Although we should totally do that, by the way." Levi rolled his eyes. "But I was thinking of something else, too."

"Oh?"

"What are your feelings about Doctor Who?"

Levi blinked. Almost like he was waiting for the punchline of a joke. "I have no feelings about Doctor Who."

"Oh," Eren frowned. "We need to change that too!"

Levi swatted the brat upside the head. "I'm trying to read, kid. If you don't pipe-down you can go back to your own room."

Eren pouted. Damn why was he so cute when he pouted? Levi sighed. He wasn't going to get any reading done at this rate. As he put the book on the bedside table, along with his glasses, Eren frowned. Turning to face the younger man, Levi quirked an eyebrow. "Don't give me that look," he said. "It's been a long day and I've told you, you need to sleep."

Eren flopped down onto the spare pillow, "But I'm not tired!"

"Well then why don't you entertain yourself."

A wicked grin appeared on Eren's face and Levi felt his gut twist. "Do you want to play a game?"

Levi narrowed his eyes, "What sort of game?"

"I don't kn-o-o-o-w! I just don't want to go to bed knowing you're going to be awake in the next room!" He turned on his side, turning those dazzling green eyes on Levi. He was even _pouting_! Levi groaned.

"God help me, kid, you'll be the death of me."

Eren huffed, trying not to let the dejected feeling take hold. "Fine!" he sighed, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. "What about if we watched a movie?"

Levi heaved a sigh, but his mouth twitched up at the corners. "You have ten minutes to choose three. If not, I'm locking you out of my room."

Eren's jaw hit the floor. "That's so cruel!"

Glancing down at his watch the older man intoned, "Nine minutes, fifty-two seconds."

Eren jumped off the bed and bolted out of the room.

Levi smirked and returned to his book, mentally counting as he did so.

They ended up watching 'JOHN WICK' until the early hours of the morning. Eren fell asleep within the first forty minutes, leaving Levi to tolerate the remainder of the film. He had to begrudgingly admit that it was a pretty good movie.

Turning the TV off, he tossed the remote onto his bedside table and turned to look down at the young man nestled on the covers next to him. He looked worn-out. It had been a long day, Levi couldn't blame him, really. Brushing the messy brown hair out of his sleeping eyes, Levi drew a woollen blanket over from the edge of the bed and draped it over Eren's body.

"Sleep tight, kid."

* * *

 **A/N: So what did we think? :D**


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: Another little update to tickle your taste-buds!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

.

 **Saturday AM**

.

.

Eating bacon, scrambled eggs and toast Eren kept glancing around the kitchen and trying not to gape. It was difficult considering that Levi was being domestic. Not only had he cooked breakfast in a pair of loose black bottom and a white tank top, his black undercut ruffled from sleep, he had also made the beds, did last nights dishes and mentally prepared for the day. Eren was still trying to blink both eyes at the same time. It had been a long time since he'd had a proper cooked breakfast. Levi's version of breakfast was a mug of black coffee and a cigarette with the back-door cracked open and the cool morning air snaking inside.

Not that Eren minded.

"So we need to run into town and grab you something warmer to wear," Levi stated, "And then we can go for a hike through the fields."

Eren snorted, "You don't strike me as the hiking sort."

"Fresh air and fitness is no laughing matter, brat," Levi intoned. "Besides, what else do you think there is to do around here?"

Eren caught the hint of a smirk on the older man's lips. He bit back his own grin and devoured the rest of his breakfast. He offered to wash up but Levi shoved him away telling him to go and get himself sorted. Eren went upstairs and couldn't help feeling calm and relaxed. If this was the life he'd be able to have away from his parents then he was glad he'd run off.

Once they were both dressed they walked out into the brisk morning air and made their way down the country lane. Pebbles shifted underfoot as they made their way across the fields. The grey skies and dull, green grass were vivid contrast to the monotonous colour scheme Eren was used to on his days travelling back and forth to Uni. Even the times he'd gone out to the woods with Armin and Mikasa it had been dull browns at best. Even the breeze the smelled of cold mud and weeds was somehow refreshing in comparison. Their shoulders brushed against one another as they walked through a steel gate and made their way across a downward sloping field. The air smelled a little damp. Eren hoped that they wouldn't get caught in any rain. His clothes weren't exactly that thick to protect him from more than a firm breeze.

Levi glanced up at him several times from behind his glasses but they didn't really make eye-contact until they came to a large hedged border.

They continued to walk, the grass rasping against their legs as they walked. Levi's hand kept nudging against Eren's until he finally braved the distance and laced their fingers together without breaking stride. Eren blinked in surprise but squeezed Levi's hand, a grin spreading over his mouth.

"Do you really like it out here?" Eren asked, casting his eyes over the neighbouring fields.

"Of course," Levi said. "It's peaceful. When you deal with snot-nosed kids all day, and then have Hange as a friend, getting away to somewhere like this can be quite the reprieve."

"Mmm I like the way you talk."

Levi blinked up at the younger man and frowned, "What makes you say that?"

"Just the way you talk. It's very grown-up."

Levi let out a rough laugh. "You are a grown-up. Despite what I call you."

Eren blushed a little.

"Besides, I've never shared this with anyone else. I'm glad I get to share it with you."

Eren's insides squirmed pleasantly. He squeezed Levi's hand a little tighter. "I'm glad you like me enough to let me stay."

"For now. We'll see how you fair later tonight."

Eren stumbled a little, the stiff mud rolling under his ankle. Levi cocked an eyebrow but continued to walk-on. Eren ground his teeth together, frowning at his awkwardness. "W-what did you have in mind?"

"Well I've been cooking all by myself these last few days. Maybe I want some help."

Eren felt heat pool in his stomach. "I'm sure I can help you out."

Levi smirked, tugging Eren alongside him as they hiked over the surrounding fields.

.

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

By the time they made it back to Levi's cottage it was almost 1PM. It was warm when they got in, toeing off their thick-soled boots at the door so as not to track mud inside. Levi reclined back on the sofa and Eren took it upon himself to make his way into the kitchen and put the kettle on.

Levi doesn't object as he idly flipped through a book to the place he'd last left.

The sound of ceramic on wood made him glance up over the rim of his glasses. Eren hovered over him in his jeans and a rumpled shirt. His hair was windswept and his cheeks were flushed a little. He'd set two mugs of tea on the coffee table and was hovering over Levi. Without a word, Eren knelt down on the edge of the sofa, awkwardly sliding his knee between Levi's. Levi flexed his legs wider and made it easier for Eren to ease down on the sofa on top of Levi. His weight was very welcome, a sliver of his warm skin brushing against Levi's. The tapping of phone keys echoed behind his head and Levi smiled a little.

Refocusing on his book, Levi continued to read, blindly reaching out for his mug and taking sips of tea as he did so. At some point Eren must have put his phone down and was just lying down, sprawled across Levi with his face tucked into the crook of his neck. His breath was soft and warm against the older man's skin and it'd occasionally make him shiver, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

For Eren to feel so comfortable with him was ... shocking!

He threaded his finger's idly through Eren's hair and pressed a chaste kiss to the kid's earlobe. The brief moments where his attention was elsewhere or, in this case, having dozed off, Levi could let his guard down a little more. The book was able to keep his mind focused on the book even when Eren shifted about on top of him.

The air grew cooler as then sky darkened through the windows.

Eventually Levi stretched his arms out, dropped the book onto the coffee table beside his empty mug and Eren's full one, and turned on his side, smirking as Eren frowned at being shifted against the back of the sofa. He didn't wake up. Levi couldn't help but stare at him. His insides were rolling around inside him. All he wanted was to touch Eren's skin over and over again. He couldn't understand why. Pressing his lips together, he skimmed his fingertips over Eren's exposed navel. It was an instant reaction.

Eren twitched through his bottoms.

Levi swallowed thickly before pressing his palm to the warm body pressed beside him. A soft groan caught his attention, igniting the liquid fire in his gut. He was aroused as Eren shifted close against him, an arm snaking over his waist and clutching at the back of his shirt.

' _Oh God kid what're you doing to me?_ ' Levi inwardly cursed as he pushed himself up on his arm and leered over the younger man. Eren stirred and cracked an eye open just as Levi pressed a smooth, firm kiss to his mouth. Eren moans, opening his mouth to the kiss and deepening it instantly.

Eren animated as the kiss deepened, his hands shooting up the back of Levi's shirt to drag him closer and melding into one another, hands roaming and hips gently gyrating together. His head was spinning but all that mattered was the feel of Levi on top of him.

"Wait, wait, wait ..." Eren gasped out, turning his head away from Levi's vicious mouth.

"What?" Levi growled.

Eren blinked blearily up at him, his face flushed. "What're we doing here?"

Levi let out another growl low in his throat. His eyes were a stormy, iron grey and were challenging Eren as he lie there, prone, beneath him. "I was kissing you."

"Why?"

"For fucks sake, kid, I like you! How many times must I say it?"

"But I ... I've not done ... that ..."

Levi's tense features softened for a moment. "How many times are you going to put the breaks on this before I can fucking have my way with you?"

"I t-thought you wanted to take things slow?" Eren stuttered.

Levi gave a deadpan look. His hands gripped the waistband of Eren's bottoms and tugged them down. Eren's breath hitched but he didn't make a move to stop him. Without breaking eye-contact, Levi shimmied down onto the floor, silently glad that Eren was wearing loose boxer shorts. "Then let me give you a blowjob slowly."

Eren's eyes widened.

Slipping his hand into the opening of said boxers, Levi released Eren's erection into his open palm, silently impressed with the girth of the younger man. Said brat was blushing bright red as Levi wrapped his fingers around the base and giving a deliberately slow stroke. Eren shuddered at his touch. Watching those bright green eyes roll back into his head was delicious!

Levi leaned over, his breath ghosting down the young man's length, and teased the tip of his tongue in Eren's wet slit. A choked sound hit his ears.

"Ahhh ..."

"Shh, just relax."

His tongue swept over Eren's head, earning him a choked moan, a hand gripping at his shoulder. Focusing on the task at hand, he slowly slid his lips over Eren's sleek helmet, before lapping his tongue over the slit again and again. A brief glance showed him that Eren was basically putty in his hands. Gripping his thighs, Levi let his mouth slowly engulf the young man's dick. Filthy moans came from Eren's mouth as Levi worked him slowly, bobbing his throat up and down until Eren was a quivering mess.

"Levi ... Levi don't -!"

Ignoring the panting pleas, Levi continued to suck on Eren's cock, working his mouth lower and lower until he was deep-throating the boy, the thicket of dark curls tickling his nose as he sucked hard, drawing out a sharp cry.

A tremor ran down his spine as Eren's fingers knotted into his hair. Usually that would irritate him but drawing the kid so close to the edge was exhilarating. He went into hyper-drive, deep-throating Eren until the young man was shaking underneath him, his jaw slack with filthy sounds filling the air.

"Levi -Levi -Oh G-God!"

Levi squeezed his eyes tight as Eren came in his mouth. The sensation was unsettling but he fought through his revulsion until the kid went slack beneath him, sighing heavily. Releasing Eren's cock with a wet 'pop', Levi sat back on the sofa and snagged a tissue from the box on the table. He wiped his mouth, grimacing and spitting a little. It wasn't that Eren didn't taste good, Levi just wasn't used to giving head at all. Something about the brat had just triggered a primal need in him, his body going forth and letting his mind catch up later.

Eren ran his hands down his face. "Oh God ... Fuck ..."

Levi cocked an eyebrow. "Breathe, kid."

Eren let out a rough chuckle. Rolling up into a sitting position, he grinned up at Levi. "That was amazing."

"Glad you thought so."

Eren shifted, biting his bottom lip. "Was it ... I mean did you like it?"

Levi smirked, "That was my first time giving head in a while."

"How long's a while?"

"About six years."

Eren's jaw dropped. "Really? Wow ... Wow ..."

Levi pulled a face, not sure what Eren was breathless about. He suddenly felt a little awkward with himself. He'd jumped the gun and rubbed-out a huge line in their friendship -or whatever they were. It used to be clean-cut and now it was more blurred than before. Eren must have seen his face, because he sat up properly and smoothed his hands over Levi's smooth jaw before kissing him. It took a little coaxing before Levi swept his tongue over Eren's, moaning softly as the kid wrapped his strong arms around his chest.

"You worry too much," Eren breathed in his ear, kissing a trail down his throat before nuzzling against his shoulder. "I was worried you wouldn't want anything intimate like that."

"It's not that I don't," Levi grunted. "I just don't want to distract you from your work."

"It'll be done soon," Eren shrugged. "Plus, this is technically a mini-break for me so ... maybe we can try some more things ... before we go back?"

Levi smiled, a weight twisting and listing off his chest. "I'd like that."

~0~

.

 **Sunday PM**

.

.

Eren sat on top of the counter tapping a rhythm between his knees as he watched Levi chopping vegetables. He knew he must be irritating the older man by drumming such an obnoxious rhythm, but if he was Levi hadn't said anything or even sighed at his antics. It was strange. Eren was so used to people snapping at him or pleading with him to stop.

Levi didn't.

He let him drum away.

A light switch went off in his head. 'I love him,' raced through his brain and made him freeze. His hands stopped, the drumming ceasing. Where had that thought come from? Was it really that simple? He wasn't sure. He'd never been in love before. Not with another person anyway.

Chocolate? He'd die for it.

Lucozade? He'd kill for it.

Running until he got dizzy? He lived for it.

But ... Levi? Levi was like the air in his lungs. Being without him was painful and suffocating, disorientating in the same ways that his nightmares were. The chopping off the knife had stopped. Blinking back to reality, Eren flushed when he saw the shorter man staring up at him with a deadpan expression, eyebrows slightly raised.

"Everything okay?"

Eren bit his lip and nodded, deliberately starting his drumming again. Levi watched him for a moment longer before returning to his chopping. Lifting the chopping boat, Levi scraped the vegetables into the wok with the edge of his knife. They sizzled as they hit the hot pan. Levi turned to the lanky man perched on his counter and folded his arms across his chest.

"What's on your mind, kid?"

"N-nothing."

"Something's on your mind. Talk to me."

Eren ducked his head, his hair flopping down over his eyes. It was adorable. "I ... I was just thinking how ... my ticks might annoy you."

Levi stroked his long fingers over Eren's wrist. Looking up into a pair of soft, grey eyes, Eren melted a little bit more. "You know it doesn't bother me, right?"

Swallowing, he bowed his head. "It bothers other people."

"I'm not ' _people_ '."

"I know. I just ... I guess I'm just so used to censoring myself and tiptoeing as much as I can. Around you thought I just ... I seem to forget about it."

"Does that scare you?"

"Sometimes ..."

"And other times?"

"I enjoy it."

Eren flinched when Levi ruffled his hair affectionately before leaning in between the young man's legs and tilting his chin up. Eren felt a grin explode on his face as Levi tiptoed up to kiss him. He grinned into the kisses, looping his arms around Levi's neck and peppering kisses over his mouth, cheeks and jaw.

"You're amazing!"

"I know," Levi smirked. "Now off," he swatted Eren's thigh, "you can help dice the chicken while I cook the rice, okay?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Eren grinned, mock-saluting before hopping off the counter. Levi rolled his eyes but turned back to his cupboards, a small smirk on his mouth.

They sat on the sofa with the coffee table pressing into their knees, a movie playing on the TV. Levi wasn't really paying attention to it, unlike Eren who seemed to jump and bounce whenever something happened. Levi ordinarily would have smacked Hange around the head with his plate if she'd acted that way around him. He'd have stood up and walked out of the room if Isabel had started up that way, too, and let Farlan deal with her.

Eren was stunted in that regard.

It left Levi feeling especially distressed.

Later that night when he was stretched out on his bed. The house was dark and silent, Eren having settled in his own room for the night. His light snoring was the only indication that there was someone else in the house. Levi turned over on his side and watched the clock numbers change. It had felt nice to have another body against his. He'd gone for so long without that it was a shock to his system. Now, suddenly, he was craving the touch of Eren's warm skin on his.

Human touch was horrid to his mind.

So what was so different about Eren?

As if on cue, the door to his room clicked open. Levi stilled, slowing his breathing and straining his ears. He recognised the soft tread of Eren's feet on the floorboards, suddenly muffled as he crossed over the rug and hovered at the end of the bed. He didn't move. Eren stood still for a while, shifting awkwardly in the darkness. Then the sheets shifted letting cool air waft over his sleep-warmed skin. Levi tried to relax a little as he watched Eren's shadowed figure tug his shirt off over his head. He went rigid as Eren's naked body slid in between the sheets, his bare legs brushing slightly against his own. Turning on his side, Levi was left facing Eren's toned back radiating heat through the thin bedsheet.

The silence was hyperactive.

"Levi?" Eren's voice was like a gunshot in the dark. Levi tried not to jolt too much. "Are you awake?"

He clenched the pillowcase tighter. "Yes ..." he finally whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Couldn't sleep."

Levi edged his hand under the duvet until his fingers brushed against Eren's buttock. "You're naked."

"I am."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Levi was about to reply when he watched Eren's shape turning over so that they were lying, face-to-face.

"Take your clothes off?"

Levi frowned a little, his insecurity permeating through the air. For once, Eren didn't seem to want to take 'no' for an answer. His fingers timidly tugged at the hem of Levi's shirt. Refusing to sit up, Levi clawed his shirt off and shuffled out of his bottoms so that he, too, was lying naked under his duvet. Eren shifted closer, his warmth rushing over the older man and making him tense. He was used to being cold and untouched. His breath caught in his throat when Eren placed the flat of his hand against Levi's hipbone, his fingers scratching lightly at the top of the coarse hair between his legs.

"What're you doing?" he rasped.

"Touching you."

"Why?"

"I like you."

Levi swallowed thickly. Red flags were popping up in his brain. He both wanted Eren to continued and wanted to bolt from the room at the same time. His fingers clenched into fists. He felt himself twitch at Eren's gentle caress. It was like electricity raced through his vein and punched him in the heart. With quaking fingers he wrapped his fingers around Eren's wrist.

"If you're going to touch me, then do it."

He guided Eren's hand down so that his palm was pressed over his swelling dick and shuddered at the touch. With his other hand he wrapped his fingers around Eren's neck and drew him half on top of him, kissing him in the darkness. The response was immediate as Eren leaned down on top of him, his warm, hard weight pressing down into Levi. The older man was a firm athlete but Eren was something else entirely!

Bracing himself up on his arm, Eren continued to kiss Levi, his hand slowly working the older man's dick. Levi was rigid and trembling beneath him but his mouth was pliant when they kissed and that's all Eren needed. He felt himself get rock hard just by smothering the teacher in hungry, eager kisses.

"God you're so handsome!" he gushed, clawing his free hand through the underside of Levi's buzzcut. "I just can't keep my hands off you."

Levi chuckled low in his throat. He smacked Eren's arse, moaning out loud as the brat rubbed their sleek dicks together. The friction set him on fire. He latched both hands onto Eren's arse and pulled him down harder, grinding against one another, spurning the fire in his belly. Everything was vibrating for more, more, more and all he could do was breathe in the musky scent of Eren as he hovered over him, pivoting his hips harder and harder as he clutched the pillows on either side of Levi's head.

"You gonna come Eren?" Levi husked, raising his hips to feel the burn even more.

Eren's expression was an unreadable mess. He was on the edge and was shaking heavily as he was drawn closer to the edge.

"Come on, kid, come for me. Come hard!"

"Levi -shit, Levi! Fuck!"

His mouth dropped open as his entire body spasmed, rocking the headboard against the wall. Hot come shot out over Levi's stomach. Levi drew close to the edge. Just as Eren was coming down from his high, the older man gripped his thighs and rutted hard against Eren's softening cock, feeling the friction of their bodies forcing him to drop over the edge. His own mouth dropped open in a silent groan as he shuddered to a stop.

He stared at the ceiling beyond Eren's head, breathing deeply.

Eren slowly drooped off of Levi, rolled onto his back and panting softly as he flopped back onto the mattress. His chest rose and fell heavily, only grimacing a little when the older man propped himself up on his elbows and scowled down at his stomach. He'd forgotten how much of a germaphobe the older man was, and regretted his sudden actions.

"Levi I-I'm so sorry!"

Quirking an eyebrow at the kid, Levi shook his head. "You don't need to say sorry."

"But I -"

"Kid, if you apologise one more time, I'll smother you."

Eren twisted his mouth into a frown as he hunched over, staring down at the older man. The gears in his head ticked by. Without a word he stood up, still naked, and sauntered off into the bathroom across the hallway. Levi watched him go, not too sure about how to move when he was covered in two thick strands of come. The least he was able to do was reach behind him and flick the bedside lamp on.

Eren returned then with a damp flannel in hand.

He looked unsure of himself as he settled on the edge of the bed and started to wipe Levi down, ensuring he was as clean as possible before returning the flannel to the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, Eren awkwardly fumbled into his bottoms and sat stiffly on the edge of the bed.

"Why are you sitting all the way over there?" Levi asked as he rubbed a hand over his damp stomach.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me close."

Levi rolled his eyes and nudged the kid with his foot. "Come up here. You're being stupid." Eren twisted his mouth but said nothing. Wrong choice of words? Pressing his lips together, Levi rolled into a sitting position and touched Eren's firm shoulder. "Sorry. I guess we're both getting used to this."

Eren's head snapped up. "Wait -you're not mad?"

Levi gave a pointed look down at his stomach. "Did it look like I was mad?"

"Well -it was hard to tell."

"In what way?"

"You just looked so ... _intense_."

Levi smirked. Shifting out of the sheets, he leaned close to Eren and rested his chin on the broad shoulder. The smell of Eren was soothing and intoxicating. Drawing in a deep breath, Levi turned the younger man's face towards him and pressed their lips together. "Let's get some rest."

"Are you going to sleep tonight?" Eren asked softly.

Levi hummed. "I can try. We'll see."

Drawing back, Eren looked down at Levi with his bright green eyes, concern swimming in their depths. "I worry about you, Levi."

"Let's worry about you and your degree, first, brat. Then we'll worry about me, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I can promise to try."

Sighing, Eren shook his head. "That's not good enough, Levi. You have to promise me. Please?"

Pressing his lips together, Levi sighed and dropped his head to Eren's shoulder. He swallowed thickly but found himself nodding regardless. "Okay, I promise."

* * *

 **A/N: Finally another update! Hope you guys love it! X**


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: Thank you to all the lovely reviews from Soron Rocket, Godric's Girl Forever, Ern Estine 13624, 2LovelySouls, Shauna Flynn. Thank you to FanofBellaandEdward for proof-reading this for me, and a massive MASSIVE thank's to Flamoria for such a long, detailed and wonderful review!**

 **WARNING: Some scene's may be too graphic for younger, impressionable readers. Please be aware that if you are uncomfortable with sexual themes, please look away!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

.

.

 **Monday AM**

.

Eren wanted to go back to bed. In bed he was calm, happy and didn't need to worry about fidgeting, or talking to people he'd rather not bother with. Like his parents. However, Levi had other ideas that morning.

"The more you delay it, the worse it'll be."

Eren ground his back teeth as Levi turned his phone face-up and slid it across the table. He'd already dialled, damn it! Gingerly picked the phone up off the table, Eren hunched over with the device pressed to his ear. The dial tone was aggravating to him. His leg started to jiggle.

Someone answered.

" _Hello?_ "

Eren visibly relaxed. "H-Hi mum."

" _Eren!_ " He winced at her voice. " _I didn't think I was going to hear from you._ "

He grimaced. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I just didn't think your or dad would want to hear from me."

" _I always want to hear from you_." A pause. " _So ... How are things up there?_ "

"They're good," he hedged. "Been doing lots of walking."

" _That's good. Are you eating enough?_ "

"Yes ... Levi cooks a lot."

" _I hope you've not been sponging off that poor ... man_."

Eren winced as she caught herself, but let it slide. "N-no. I help him with cooking and the cleaning a bit. We ... um ... were going to the cinema tonight."

"That's nice." God, when did talking to his mum get to stiff and suffocating? " _So ... you really like him, then? This 'Levi'?_ "

"I do. I ... I wanted you guys to meet him."

" _Eren_ ..."

"No, I know what happened. I was there." He groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. "You have to understand -you and dad -that I am an adult. I can think for myself. Right now, Levi means a lot to me. I need you guys to at least respect me enough to meet him before you judge him."

Carla was silent on the other end. Eren double-checked the screen to make sure he hadn't muted it. " _Eren_ ," she sighed. " _It's not that I don't want to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, you need to understand that the age-gap is rather worrying_."

"Are you trying to tell me that there isn't an age-gap between you and dad?" he asked, bristling at her words. Something sharp hit the back of his head. He jumped in his seat to see Levi shooting him a stern look as he poured water into the kettle. When had he moved? The man was too stealthy for a teacher.

" _Of course not. There's at least nine years between us, but things were different back then_."

"Can't you at least meet him? Give him a proper chance?"

" _I wouldn't mind meeting him properly. It's your father._ "

"Can't you talk to him? He'll listen to you."

" _Eren_ ..."

"Please?"

" _Okay_ ," she finally said. " _I'll see what I can do_."

"Thanks mum," he fought back a smile. "Did you ... er ... want to talk to him ...?"

" _Oh ... No, that's fine darling. I need to get going anyway. I'll speak to your father tonight._ "

"Okay. Thanks. Love you."

" _Love you too. Bye_."

"Bye."

Eren ended the call and let out a deep sigh. He dropped his head into his hands, clawing his hands through his hair. He hadn't realised his leg had been jiggling all through the call until it knocked on the edge of the table leg, a bolt of pain shooting through his knee. He winced and forced his leg to stay still.

A hand came down on his shoulder, kneading the muscles.

"I'm proud of you, kid. You did well."

Eren craned his head back to look at Levi, "You mean it?"

"Not many people are able to stand-up to their parents. The fact that you have and stuck to your guns, is impressive."

Eren quirked a small smile, toying with the phone in front of him. "So ... Do you still want to go to the cinema tonight?"

"Sure." Water splashed down into two mugs. The comforting aroma of tea filled the air. "Mind you, there are probably only two movies showing."

"I don't mind," Eren said. "It's something to do."

Levi rolled his eyes with a smirk, handing Eren his tea. "If I'd known you were going to be a gold-digger, I'd have shown you my pay cheque during the first month."

Eren laughed. He drank his tea and raked a hand through his hair.

Levi squeezed his shoulder. "I'm going to go and have a shower. Try not to make too much mess."

"With what?"

"I don't know. For all I know you could sneeze and end up setting fire to my sofa."

Eren chuckled and watched the older man leave before turning his phone on and turning-on his WiFi. As usual his group chat with Mikasa and Armin had about fifty messages since last night. Some things never changed. From what he could gather nothing much had changed in their lives; Mikasa was currently in Germany whereas Armin had managed to finish another extensive essay over the weekend. All the while Eren had been in Lincoln with Levi.

,

 _ **Mikasa 10:03AM:**_

 _[MIKASA SENT A .JPEG]_

 _'My current view!'_

 _._

 _ **Armin 10:11AM:**_

 _'That looks so amazing and relaxing! I just finished another essay and handing it in ASAP!'_

 _._

 _ **Eren 11:32AM:**_

 _'Gosh you guys have been far too busy! I feel like such a lazy bastard! :D'_

 _[EREN SENT A .JPEG]_

 _'Mind you, we do go on lovely walks!'_

 _._

 _ **Mikasa 11:45AM:**_

 _'I'm almost jealous. ALMOST.'_

 _._

Eren smiled as he closed his apps and drained the last of his tea. He Put his empty mug in the sink and stared out across the long garden. It really did take his breath away. It was such a nice change of scenery from the monochromatic crap of the London area. It was a bit of a surprise that Levi liked something as beautiful as the countryside.

"Are you ready?"

He nearly dropped the cup, spinning around to see Levi framed in the doorway. He had a fitted jacket on with a scarf wound loosely around his collar. Cocking an eyebrow at the younger man, Levi waited for him to answer.

"Er ... Just need shoes and my jacket and I'm good to go!"

"Okay. I want to leave in the next five minutes so don't dawdle."

Eren wasted no time in scurrying out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He'd only brought his messenger bag with some clean underwear and socks -the rest had grown from heading into town with Levi the other day. It was only a couple of extra jumpers and some basic tops, but Eren was grateful not to have to wash his only outfit every day. Zipping up a dark green hoodie, he took the stairs two at a time and met Levi at the front door just as the older man was grinding out the butt of his cigarette.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

"Then let's go."

.

.

 **Monday PM**

.

"So did you like them?" Eren grinned as the rush of cool air washed over them.

They'd gone to the cinema to watch a double feature of 'LOVE, SIMON' -Eren's choice -and 'ISLE OF DOGS' -Levi's choice.

Eren had never done a double-feature at the cinema in his life, and he was glad that Levi was, not only open to the idea, but it had been his idea! His excuse being that if he was as 'uneducated' about films as Eren claimed to be, then they needed to pick two and go and see them.

The cinema with Levi was an experience in itself; the man had a sweet-tooth whereas Eren preferred popcorn. An experiment of sweet chocolate and salty popcorn was his new, very-favourite treat. He'd even convinced the teacher to try one. He wasn't sure what he preferred more; the feel of Levi's smooth lips sucking the sweet from his fingertips, or the look on his face by the glow of the screen when he revealed just how disgusting he found Eren's discovery.

"Come on, you know you liked _Isle of Dogs_ at LEAST!"

"Of course I did," Levi replied curtly. Casting a sidelong smirk at the taller man, he asked, "Did you enjoy your sappy little romance?"

Eren pouted and scuffed his feet a little on the pavement. "You're not into romance?"

"Movies? No. Real life? Not sure. Hasn't ever really come up."

Eren stared down at him with wide eyes. "What? None of your other boyfriends wanted you to put more romance into their relationship, or vice versa?"

Levi had to think. He plucked at a frayed thread inside his coat pocket as they walked down the street to the car. No, romance had never seemed like a necessity to his past boyfriends. Thinking about it with renewed clarity felt like everything else was cheapened by the lack of attention to detail. He stopped. How much exactly had he been missing out on since he'd started dating? Would his birthdays have been anymore special? Would he loose sleep by being excited for what Valentines day would bring? Did it make the whiskey he drank on Christmas eve right through to New Years Day any more intoxicating? Or was it all just cooperate bullshit that demanded more of his money?

A hand on his elbow stopped him.

"Hey."

He blinked. They were at the edge of the car-park. He could clearly see his car, a fine layer of frost crystallising in the corner of his windscreen. Eren was frowning down at him, his mouth twisted up with concern.

"Have I said something to upset you?"

"Hmm?" What had they been talking about? Oh ...right. "No, no, just thinking that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes." He dug his keys out and marched across to the car, the cold wind making him shiver. "Let's get in before we freeze our bollocks off."

They climbed into the car and buckled in. Levi started the engine and pulled out of the car park and onto the main road. It was exceptionally quiet for this time of night, even ignoring the fact that they were in a small town. Eren sat quietly beside him, his hands on his lap and his left knee jiggling a little bit. Levi pressed his lips together, mentally kicking himself for being a wet blanket on a nice evening out. At a red light, he reached over the gear-shift and placed his hand over Eren's. The younger man flinched a little before turning his palm upwards and lacing their fingers together.

The light turned green and they let go of each other.

.

.

Once they pulled up out front of the cottage, Levi turned the engine off but made no move to get out. Now that the car had warmed up, the thought of having those grumbling thoughts freeze in his head unsettled him.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you tonight," Eren's dejected voice jarred Levi out of his trance.

He frowned over at the brunette. "What're you talking about?"

"Asking personal questions. I should learn by now. You're not really into all the personal stuff."

Levi ground his teeth together. Grabbing the kid by the collar, Levi pulled him over and attacked his mouth. He barely gave Eren a moment before slipping his tongue into his mouth and clutching a handful of his hair. Eren moaned into the kiss, shifting so that the gearshift wasn't digging into his hip. "Should we ... Should we go in?" he managed to grunt, as Levi worked his teeth against his throat.

Levi growled.

"Be quick," he grunted, unlocking the car door.

They'd barely gotten in through the front door before Levi had Eren pressed up against it, his cool hands pawing at the buttons of his shirt, his jeans, and almost ripping off his jacket. Eren gripped Levi's face in his hands, hungrily kissing him over and over, his lips already feeling raw. Levi's hands swept up his back muscles and he shuddered, grabbing the older man's hips and grinding against him. Levi groaned as the denim caused friction between them. Eren let his hand slip down into Levi's boxers and stroked his erection. A shiver ran through him. He wanted more but ...

"Come on, brat, I'm not doing this against a door," Levi growled, tugging the taller man towards the staircase.

Eren nearly ran up the stairs, desperate to have Levi's mouth on him again. His heart hammered in his ears as Levi grabbed the front of his unbuttoned shirt, and leaned up to devour him. Without thinking, Eren hooked his hands under Levi's legs and lifted him up. The surprised sound made him smirk into their kisses. He was a bundle of lean limbs and hard muscle and feeling his thighs squeezing around his waist, made Eren harder. Backing up to the bed, he fell onto the duvet with Levi planted heavily in his lap. They barely broke for air.

"Clothes off," Levi demanded.

Eren hastily nodded, shedding as much clothing as possible without dislodging the man on top of him. Levi did the same, pressing himself flat down against Eren, the coolness making Eren hiss and clutch him tighter. His senses were going haywire as they rutted against each other in their boxers, the mix of cool skin and warm air and hot, wet kisses was too much. If he didn't calm down he was going -

"Levi -w-wait!"

Levi growled, furiously biting at the kid's exposed skin, his throat and mouth. His hands rubbed at Eren through his boxers, feeling the damp spot grow as he continued to grope his lover.

Eren's eyes rolled back into his head. He gripped the pillows, his body trembling with the over-whelming urge to come. He felt hot, sticky and was vibrating through the mattress. Heat rushed through him like lava, swirling inside him, sending sparks shooting up behind his eyelids -

"Levi!"

The older man ignored the cry coming from Eren's mouth. It rang in his ears as he was bucked, hot cum shooting up over Eren's exposed chest. Letting out a chuckle, Levi watched as Eren twitched the last of his release before going slack underneath him. He sat there astride the brat's thighs, before swatting him. "Do you want me to clean you up?"

Eren, mouth agape, nodded.

He was still seeing stars.

Levi smirked and shimmied off of the younger man. Snagging a pair of pyjama bottoms from the end of the bed, he tucked himself into them before padding out across the hall to the bathroom. The light was harsh to his eyes as he washed his hands and face with strong soap. He stared at his reflection for a few moments, regulating his breathing, and searching the reflection for something -anything -than explained what Eren saw in him.

Nothing.

At least, he couldn't see it.

Raking a hand through his hair, Levi rinsed a flannel through warm water and went back to attend Eren. He found the younger man leaning back on his plush pillows, face still flushed bathed in the glow from the lamplight. It felt a little better now that they weren't in total darkness. Once Eren was washed up, dried off and dressed in a pair of baggy bottoms, Levi tugged the blankets back and sat back on the pillows next to the younger man. Eren was still panting beside him, a dopey grin on his face.

"Woah ..." Eren gushed, "I ... I just ... fuck!"

"Jeez, kid, what happens when we actually have sex?" Levi quipped.

Eren shifted, feeling heat pool in his stomach. "Um ..."

Rolling his eyes, Levi reached out and stroked a finger down Eren's cheek. "Relax, kid. It was a joke."

"It's not like -I don't want to ..."

Levi felt his arm winding around Eren's shoulder and tugging him close in an abrupt movement. Eren stiffened, bracing himself against Levi's chest. "I promise not to do anything you're uncomfortable with. It's been a while before me, too, so ... you're not entirely alone."

Eren nodded stiffly, tracing a pattern over Levi's hairless chest. His skin was like pure porcelain. "You're so wonderful, you know that?"

Levi squeezed. "Shut up, kid. You wouldn't know 'wonderful' if it bit you in the arse."

"Maybe you should try it some time."

Levi chuckled before smacking Eren upside the head. He just laughed in response, burrowing closer to Levi's strong chest.

"Hey I was wondering ..."

"Hmm?"

"When I go back home ... do you ... I mean, would I be able to stay with you for a few days?"

Levi frowned down at him. "Eren are you sure that's wise? Your mother at least really wants you to come home."

"She didn't sound terribly worried, once she knew I was safe."

"I'm sure she still wants you home."

"Maybe," Eren shrugged, "I just ... I worry."

"Your work will suffer if you hole up with me any longer than necessary."

"I can work well enough, Levi. It's just fine-tuning it, really. Besides, sitting around with my parents yelling about how best to get you arrested is hardly a great working enviroment."

"I know, kid, I know." He surprised himself by stroking Eren's bare shoulder, noting the goosepimples breaking out over the young man's skin and feeling him shudder a little. "We just have to take it one step at a time, okay? You're always welcome to come to me if you're having a hard time with your parents or anyone else, you know that, right?"

"I do, now."

"Good. You're welcome to stay until the end of the week. I'll be heading back Friday."

Eren pressed his lips together, "I may need to use your laptop then. To do some work in the evenings."

"Do you have anything in your e-mails?" A nod. "Okay, well that's something you can do tomorrow to keep yourself busy. It's meant to rain."

Eren snorted.

"What?"

"Your pillow talk could use some work." Levi rolled his eyes as Eren shifted on top of his chest and smirked up at him. Levi cocked an eyebrow down at him. "I only put up with it because I think you're cute."

Levi grimaced at the word. "I'm not 'cute' kid."

Eren leaned over and smacked a kiss to his lips. "You are. You're grumpy and irritable and I think it's cute."

"Then your mother has something to answer for."

"Oh? What?"

"Dropping you on your head as a child."

"LEVI!" Eren groaned out loud, pressed his face into Levi's firm stomach. His head jostled as Levi let out a low, rumbling laugh. His hands ran through Eren's hair over and over, the laughter echoing in the younger man's ears.

"Oh dear, you do make me laugh kid."

"Is that a good thing?"

Levi smirked. "I'm willing to say yes it's a very good thing. However, I fear Hange will put you in a test tube and study you just to see what secrets you hold to getting me to like you."

Eren bit his bottom lip. "Levi ..."

"Yes?"

 _I love you._

"C-can I sleep in here tonight?"

Levi rolled his eyes, "Yes. Now get under the blankets and get comfortable. I know I don't sleep but I'm not about to have you fidget around for hours."

Eren rolled onto the empty side of the bed and slipped underneath the covers. The bed had been warmed and was instantly calming to his erratic thoughts. The firm, warm pressure of Levi's body pressed against him throughout the night was the safety blanket he'd never realised he'd needed. As Levi put his glasses on and took his book off the nightstand, Eren cosied up to his right arm, resting his head lightly on the older man's shoulder and closed his eyes.

~0~

.

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

(18:12) _So how's the run-away honeymoon with the bf?_

(18:15) _Subtle as a gun, Mika. It's going great. Jealous?_

(18:21) _Maybe a little :O_

(18:23) _So how is he in bed?_

(18:25) _JESUS CHRIST MIKASA!_

(18:27) _WTF?!_

(18:30) _WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK ME THAT?!_

(18:34) _I take it that's a no?_

(18:37) _I JUST ... WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK THAT?!_

(18:41) _You've been shacked up with him for a week now and you've not even fucked? Come ON Eren!_

(18:46) _We're taking things slow!_

(18:47) _Ever heard of that? Jeez ..._

(18:50) _Sounds like you need it bad, bro ;)_

(18:52) _Shut up!_

(18:55) _Why're you messaging me anyway?_

(18:57) _I was just letting you know that I'll be coming back at the start of July._

(18:59) _That's still ages away! Why did you need to tell me now?_

(19:03) _So that you don't make any other plans with your boy-toy and forget about me!_

(19:05) _Which means I'm going to have to meet him, too ;)_

(19:07) _That was nowhere near implied in any way._

(19:08) _But fine. You can meet him. At some point._

(19:10) _Good boy. You know it makes sense. Anyways I need to head off, I got dinner plans!_

(19:13) _Great. I have a hot man to get back to anyway!_

(19:15) _Bitch!_

(19:16) _I learn from the best ;)_

(19:17) _You suck :O_

(19:19) _I do that too ;)_

(19:21) _Eren! What's gotten into you?!_

(19:22) _Levi ;)_

(19:23) _EREN!?_

(19:25) _Kidding. Couldn't resist!_

(19:26) _Fuck you._

(19:27) _Love you too xox_

~0~

.

.

 **Thursday AM**

.

Levi had managed to get to sleep. He hadn't realised how he'd gotten cosy, how he'd slowly drifted off, still limply holding the book. He'd even snuggled up even deeper under his blankets, almost falling off his pillows entirely. When he woke up it was completely natural without the artificial trill of an alarm blaring in his ears. His hair hurt and was sticking up in all directions -he could feel it. Ruffling his hair into place, he squinted over at this alarm clock and frowned.

10:53AM.

When was the last time he'd slept so late?

Not even on the inset days or the half-term holidays did he sleep so late. Dragging himself up, he propped himself back against the pillows and rubbed at his eyes and face, trying to regain some feeling. He yawned, stretched and turned to look at the other side of the bed.

Empty.

He frowned, racking his brain for the moment when Eren had padded back to his own bedroom. Nope, nothing. Dragging on a long-sleeved shirt to ward off the early-morning chill, Levi padded out of his room and gingerly made his way down the narrow staircase. His brain felt furry inside his skull. This was one of the reasons he hated sleeping so much, if at all. Faint clattering noises came from the kitchen and the sharp bitter tang of coffee hung in the air. His stomach grumbled.

"Hey kid what're you doing?" he called out as he rounded the corner into his kitchen.

He stopped in the doorway.

Eren straightened up from the table, clasped his hands behind his back and beamed up at him. On the kitchen table, there were large plates of food; bacon, frieds eggs, toast with the tub of butter beside it, a bowl of baked beans and some fried tomatoes. It was like their own little buffet. Levi was gaping at the scene before him -it was too surreal!

"Wha-what's all this?" he managed.

"Well, I was thinking about the other night and how I sort of spoiled the mood after the movie, so I wanted to make it up to you. Also -it's a bit of a 'thank you' for putting up with me this last week."

Levi relaxed, releasing his grip on the door-frame. He walked around the table and rested his hands on Eren's shoulder's. "I told you, kid, you don't need to thank me for that."

Taking hold of Levi's hands, Eren pressed a kiss to his palm. Levi's breath hitched but Eren ignored it, along with the way the older man stiffened at his touch. "You need to learn that sometimes what you do, deserves thanks."

Levi cocked an eyebrow.

"They do," Eren insisted. "Now -stop trying to lecture me. It's too early for you to be in teacher-mode. Just ... sit and eat ... Please?"

Levi smirked but obeyed. Settling down at the table, they started dishing out servings of the food onto the two clean plates laid out for them. Eren made Levi strong, black tea whilst he chugged down a large mug of coffee. They chatted lightly about how best to pack the things to take back home, which wouldn't be difficult since Eren didn't really have a lot of things. Levi, when asked if he was anxious about returning to work, insisted that he was more than mentally prepared for it, his lesson plans were up-to-date, and he had temporary blocked Hange's number as he did every time he went away.

"You know one of these days we really should get to know one another's friends," Eren said as he speared another rasher of bacon off his plate.

Levi furrowed his brow, "Is that so?"

"Well ... it doesn't make sense not to, right? Mika and Armin are pretty eager to meet you. Plus I've already sort of spoken to Issy."

Levi smirked and set his cup down. "Alright, if you're insisting on this. How about tomorrow evening?"

Eren choked on his coffee. "Er ... that's a little soon?"

"Nonsense," Levi shrugged. "We'll be back at mine by the afternoon. I won't want to cook, I doubt you'll want to. Plus Issy and Farlan will probably kick my door down as soon as they see my car pull-up outside."

Eren felt his cheeks heat up a little. "Okay -I -I guess we might as well break the ice with it all."

"Nervous?" Levi chuckled.

"A little."

"This was literally your suggestion not two seconds ago."

"I know, I know!" Eren ruffled hair. "Just ... you've gotten me so anxious about meeting Hange I'm not sure I could cope!"

Levi twitched a smile at the anxious kid. His knee was jiggling against Levi's, but the younger man probably didn't realise. "You'll be fine, brat. I'll protect you."

"Somehow I'm not convinced."

Levi insisted on washing the dishes once they'd eaten as much as they could. Eren pouted and wondered what else he could do if he wasn't cleaning up. He decided to go and sort himself out for the day. Dressed in his jeans, a top and a hoodie, Eren ran a towel over his damp hair and padded back down the hall towards Levi's bedroom. Despite having gone in the room numerous times, Eren hadn't taken the time to look around it in daylight. There were a few photos on the walls, mounted in thick black frames; one of a dark-haired woman holding a small baby in the crook of her elbow, her hair frazzled and circled under her eyes -but she had such a wonderful smile! There was another photo of teenager Levi being a little poser against a brick wall. It was a very eighties photo. There was a motorcycle handlebar just in the shot. Eren couldn't help but smile; it was no wonder Levi's parents got a little worried about their son. Not that they'd handled it at all in a proportionate manner! The third photo on the wall was of Levi in his army uniform. He had a couple of medals pinned on his uniform, but Eren had no idea what they were.

The last photo on the wall was how Eren knew Levi now; it must have been from the first day of his job in teaching. Levi was dressed in his usual monochromatic manner, only with a dark grey waistcoat over a white shirt and black tie. His hair was cut at a razor sharp angle. He looked a little younger, but stricter than anything! Eren felt heat stir in his belly. To see Levi so stoic and leaning back against his desk, arms folded and legs crossed at the ankle, it was so damn hot!

' _Shit, since when did I have a kink for teachers?_ ' Eren frowned.

"You're such a nosey shit sometimes," Levi's voice made him jump a little. The older man chuckled, "Calm down, brat. You're allowed to look."

"I didn't mean to snoop."

"They're photos on a wall, Eren. It's hardly snooping."

Eren pulled a face but didn't argue. Instead he pointed to the photo of Levi standing at his desk. "Is this from your first day teaching?"

Levi glanced over from his wardrobe. For a brief moment, his face was open and inviting -it caught Eren off-guard for a moment. "Oh. That. Yes, Erwin took that photo. Said I'd like the memory."

"And do you?"

"I guess."

Eren glanced over at Levi again. He was taking clothes out of the wardrobe and draping them on the end of the bed, ready to pack. Eren figured he might as well be helpful and dug the suitcase out from under the bed, propped it open and started to fold the clothes. If Levi was surprised by his actions, he didn't comment on it.

It only took about an hour to pack all of Levi's clothes into two suitcases.

Eren helped take them down to the car and shift it into the boot, and piled a few bags of random items and useable products into the back seats. Once everything was done, Levi placed dust sheets over the sofas and armchairs, went through all of the rooms like a sharp wind, making sure all the windows and doors were locked. Pulling the front door to, Levi took the messenger bag with his laptop and books inside off his shoulder and slipped it into the back seat before opening the driver's side door. Eren was already in the passenger seat, rifling through the CD's.

"Do you have any CD's for NoName?" he asked.

Levi wrinkled his nose as he fastened his seatbelt. "Not in the car. Why would I want to listen to that anyway?"

"I like it," Eren shrugged. "There's not much here. Radio?"

"Knock yourself out."

.

.

 **Thursdsy PM**

.

They'd been driving down the motorway for an hour and a half, Eren often quietly singing along to whatever pop-crap came up on the radio, but Levi wasn't bothered. He was glad for the kid to be enoying himself. It made him feel better about going back home after two weeks away. There had been something niggling at his mind though. Almost as soon as they'd set-off, a thought jabbed into Levi's mind that he was a little anxious about bringing up. He didn't want to ruin Eren's good mood but at the end the day, it was something that couldn't be avoided.

In the end, he decided to bring it up when they stopped for something to eat.

As soon as the food was brought to the table and the young waitress tottered away out of ear-shot, Levi took his coat off and stirred three sugars into his tea. "Eren there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Mmmm?" Eren blinked up at him, his mouth already open to spoon some food in there. "What's up?"

"I was thinking that you need to go and see your parents tonight."

Eren set his fork down with a heavy frown. "But -Levi why? They already made is clear what they thought of you and that they want to keep me away from you."

"I know, Eren," Levi placated, already sensing the young man get worked-up. "All I'm saying is that you should go and see them. Talk to them. Make it clear that you'll leave as soon as they say anything that you don't like."

"That won't work."

"Why not?"

"You don't know my dad."

Levi inclined his head, "I understand that he is difficult. I do. However, the longer you stay away the harder it will be to sort everything out. At the very least you can go inside and get your laptop, notes and some clothes and bring them to mine if it gets that bad. I told you, you're always welcome."

Eren twisted his mouth up. Hunched over his food, he suddenly looked so small and frail. It filled Levi with the sudden urge to try and hug the damn brat and tell him it'd be okay. Eren sighed and readjusted his jacket. "I suppose I should go and see them. Even if just for mama's sake."

"As I said, if anything bad happens, you can come straight back to mine."

Eren gave a small smile, stirring the ice-cubes around in his drink. "I appreciate it."

Feeling lighter, Levi turned his attention onto his food. They ate quickly and were soon back on the road heading towards London.

~0~

Three hours later the motorway had developed into streets and warehouses had transformed into homes and houses with garages and cars. Eren had stopped singing. He had sat up a little straighter when he recognised where they were heading. He twisted his hands in his lap. His jaw was tense whenever Levi chanced a glance over at him.

The sky was barely light anymore by the time Levi pulled-up at the bottom of Eren's road. He left the engine running as he turned to Eren in his seat. "Look at me, kid." Sighing, Eren obliged. Levi gripped one of his hands in his own. "I'll wait here for fifteen minutes. If you want to leave, let me know and I'll stay until you come out."

Eren squeezed his hand back. "I'll let you know. Promise."

They let go of one another. Levi felt a pressure in his chest.

Eren clicked the door open and stepped out into the cool night air. He took his bag of clothes from the backseat and waved to Levi as he walked up in the direction of his house. Levi glanced at his watch. 6:03PM. "Fifteen minutes," he murmured to himself gripping the steering wheel.

The sky outside darkened. He drummed a rhythm on the steering wheel, not sure whether he wanted Eren to text him or not. He ground his back teeth anxious to get home and relax, as well as make sure that Eren was where he needed him to be. Within ten minutes his phone vibrated with a text from Eren.

.

(18:11) _My dads away for the night on a business trip. Going to spend the night here with Mama and make sure I have everything prepared so I can leave when mu father gets back._

(18:13) _Sorry it took so long to message you. Only just got a moment to myself. Mama wants to hear all about you. Feel like I can't say 'no'._

(18:15) **Good. I'm glad. Try and stay safe. I'll be home soon so I'll text once I'm settled.**

(18:16) _Okay :) I ... already miss you._

(18:17) **Miss you too, kid.**

.

Levi smiled weakly, glad at least that the brat wasn't in any immediate danger. Was Grisha dangerous? Levi didn't know, but he wasn't ready to find-out. Turning the key, his car rumbled back to life and he pulled out to drive down the main road.

Dragging his cases up the two flights of stairs to his front door was arduous work. It was the worst way to end a holiday. The key groaned in the lock, letting a rush of stale air hit him in the face. It wasn't dark, however.

Grinding his back teeth together, Levi kicked the front door shut. "You lot better get the fuck out of my flat right now before I murder you."

Farlan appeared in the kitchen doorway with a docile smile, "Hey hun! Our baby's home!"

Levi glared as Isabel peered around the living room door. "Finally! We've been waiting forever!"

"Get out."

"But Levi we ordered food for you. See how generous I'm being even though you threw a cat at me?"

Levi ignored her, propping his cases up by the door and accepting a beer from Farlan.

"That cat had a name by the way. And an owner," Isabel continued. "He belonged to a fifty-two year old woman who lives a few houses down."

Levi took a drink from his bottle.

"She was very happy to get him back."

He swallowed.

"Fine!" Isabel sighed. "It's no fun when you don't react."

Farlan chuckled and ruffled her hair, "Give the man a break, Issy. Let's interrogate him after we eat."

"It's not here yet!"

"Wait."

Isabel pouted.

"Since we have to wait anyway," Levi intoned, setting his bottle down. "I'm going to do some unpacking."

"Fine! But when you come back we want ALL the DETAILS!" Isabel called as he walked out of the living room.

"Whatever."

Gripping both suitcases by their handles, he dragged them down the hall and into his bedroom. He locked the door behind him and took a deep breath. Finally, he could relax and just be with his thoughts, if only for a short while. He needed the space to clear his head. What he really wanted was Eren's company, however that would have to wait.

He hated waiting but he was a patient man.

Whether he liked it or not, he was patient.

* * *

 **A/N: So how did you guys like the chapter? Let me know!**


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N: So here's a nice, long, meaty update for you guys! Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

.

.

 **Friday PM**

.

With the Chinese take-away dished out, Eren gave a tight smile as his mum placed the food in front of him. "Thanks," he said as she settled down across from him. He poured some drink for them both, desperate to have anything to do to take away some of the tension. It didn't work.

"So," Carla said picking up her fork. "How was your time away?"

"It was nice. Calm."

"That's good," she forced a smile. "I know your father didn't handle the situation very well, but I do appreciate that your friend called us to let us know you were safe."

"He was anxious when he heard I spent the night at the train station."

"I don't want you doing that again," Carla pointed her knife at him, a warning look in her clear eyes. "That was far too dangerous. You got lucky this time, but I don't want you taking that risk again."

"I know, mama, I know." He bowed his head to show just how sorry he was.

"It's alright, love," she reached over and squeezed his hand. "You're safe now, that's all that matters."

He gave her another strained smile.

"So, tell me; what did you get up to whilst up there?"

Eren was grateful for the change in topic. "We mostly went walking around the fields and some nature trails. We went to the cinema the other night and he made sure I did some of my dissertation whilst there."

"That's good," Carla said with an amused smile. "He really does take your studies seriously. I'm thinking even more than you."

"Hey!" Eren protested, but didn't object further. He could be lazy, and no one knew that more than his mother. On a more serious note he added, "He doesn't mind the drumming."

Carla frowned.

"My ticks," he elaborated. "When I'm restless or irritable and do that drumming thing you guys hate. He -he doesn't mind."

"Darling, we don't hate it -"

"No, I know. But it does irritate you," he gave her a pointed look. "Levi doesn't mind or tell me to stop. He doesn't even ignore me. We can have a whole conversation and then some, whilst I'm drumming. He ... He doesn't mind."

Carla smiled endearingly at her son. "I'm glad he doesn't mind. Patience is always a good thing, especially if it's someone you plan on spending a lot of time with."

Eren fought the grin threatening his face.

"So, tell me about him. Have you met his parents?"

The heat drained from Eren's face. "I ... er ... He doesn't talk to his parents anymore."

"Oh, that's a shame," Carla's expression shifted to one of concern. She clearly wanted to ask more about the reason's why Levi didn't speak with his family, but they were already on thin ice as it was. Best to keep the conversation as neutral as possible. "So he just lives by himself?"

Eren frowned. "Y-e-s," he said slowly. "He's older than me, remember? He had a house and a car and a job. Like a grown-up."

"Well he seems very self-sufficient," Carla laughed. "What does he do for fun?"

"He's in a band."

This time Carla's laughter was loud and bright and made Eren's cheeks heat up. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry sweetheart!" she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. "I just really wasn't expecting that."

He watched her take a drink. "Are you -is it a band thing?"

"No, darling, no. It's just he sounds so straight-laced and then you tell me he's in a band, it's like a one-eighty."

"Oh I know I was shocked when I found out too."

"Is he any good?"

"He's amazing," Eren beamed. "He got his band to play at my birthday as a surprise."

"Oh, is that who it was?" Carla frowned. "Mikasa showed me some videos but I'd never seen the band before."

"There's a fair bit about them online. A lot more now since they performed at my birthday."

Leaning forward his mama gave him a cheeky look, "You're smitten with him, aren't you?"

"M-maybe." Why was he blushing so much? "I really want you guys to meet him. Get to know him. I know the age gap is scary but he's such a good person, Mama."

"Well what would you prefer?" Carla asked with a bit of a sigh. "Dinner at home or going somewhere a little more neutral? Like a nice restaurant?"

"Well if we go to a restaurant, it'll be too loud and we probably won't get to talk too much," Eren shrugged. "Dinner here is fine, I just want Dad to try and behave himself."

"How about this Sunday?"

Eren nearly dropped his fork. So soon? "Um I -I can ask and see if he's free. He'll have lessons the next day, though, so he won't be able to stay too late."

"That's fine, love, we have jobs too, you know."

His cheeks hurt from all the blushing.

"I'll let him know later on then."

Carla smiled. The matter was settled. "Good now, are you finished eating?" Eren nodded, placing his knife and fork on the plate. "Okay, I'll sort these out and you can grab the dessert from the fridge."

"What is it?"

"Cheesecake."

"Mum you're the best!"

.

.

 **Friday PM [Later]**

.

[EREN CALLING]

Levi raised his eyebrows in surprise as he swiped his phone off the coffee table. He'd just been catching up on the latest news updates online with a documentary on quietly on the TV. Setting the paper aside and muting the TV completely, Levi answered the call.

"Hey squirt, you can't miss me this much?" he drawled, reclining back along the sofa. A kink or two cracked back into place and he felt some tension ebb out of his muscles.

Eren chuckled down the line, "Well naturally I miss you. I also wanted to say that dinner with Mama went well and she's agreed to having you come over for dinner."

Levi tensed all over again. "Will your father be there?"

"... Yeah, but I've warned Mama that the instant he gets rude, I'm leaving."

"That'll upset her."

"I know. She knows, too, but she's prepared for it."

He sighed. "So when will this magical evening take place?"

"Is ... Is Sunday too soon?"

Levi pressed his lips together and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn't his ideal Sunday night before a Monday morning facing dim-witted children. However, this was for Eren. The sooner the peace was made with his family, the easy everything else would be. If Eren's home-life was smoother, then he wouldn't end up feeling like a teenager needing to run-away from home. "Sunday is fine," he finally said. "Did you get any work done on your dissertation?"

"Yes, sir," Eren quipped. "I worked on it for a full two hours before dinner."

"When is it all due in?"

"The end of August. I know it's still a long way, but I need to start using the facilities at campus again."

"Well, whenever you're there working later, let me know and I can come and pick you up."

"You don't have to do that," Eren simpered, clearly grateful for even suggesting the idea. It really was the little things that made this kid appreciate life, and that was one of the reason's Levi enjoyed spending time with him.

"I know I don't have to, Eren. I like being there for you."

There was a pause. "Levi?"

"Yes, Eren?"

"You're ... you're wonderful."

"Enough of that," Levi couldn't help but smile. "So, if I'm to meet your parents officially on Sunday, then I think we need to arrange an official time for you to meet my friends."

"About that ..." Eren hedged. Levi kept quiet, patiently waiting for the young man to follow the thought through. "Um ... I know you don't speak to them but ... I don't know ... Would there ever be a reason for me to ... um ... meet your parents?"

That caught Levi off-guard. "Not that I'm aware of," he finally managed.

"Oh ..."

"Eren, my friends are as close to family as I've gotten in years. They're the ones who you need to impress," he added a teasing note at the end of the statement, hoping to soothe the tension he could feel emanating from the phone.

"I guess."

"It's not that I wouldn't want to, kid," he sighed. "It's just ... Difficult."

"I get that, I do."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh no, it's fine, I get it!" Eren insisted. "I mean it's going to be hard enough dealing with mine, without adding another set into the mix."

Levi hummed, not trusting himself to speak.

"Do you ... Still want me to meet your friends?"

"Of course I do, brat."

"Oh ... good."

"So what're you doing right now?"

"Well ..." There was some shuffling. "It's nearly midnight. I don't really plan on doing anything right now."

"No movies? No skype with your sister?"

"Levi are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No." He ground his back teeth together. He had an appointment tomorrow, one he hadn't told the kid about. However -it was on the tip of his tongue to ask the kid to come along. The words weren't coming out. Did he want him to be there? It wasn't urgent so ...

"Levi?"

"Hm?"

"You went quiet ..."

"Sorry."

"Is something on your mind?"

"I just had an errand to do tomorrow, nothing major. I was wondering if you ... If you'd like to come with me?"

"Wha-a-at is it?"

"A tattoo appointment."

"WHAT?" Eren's voice was nearly piercing. "Why didn't you tell me you had something like that booked?"

"It's just a touch-up appointment, that's all," Levi back-tracked. "It won't be as bad as the other's, but it'll keep me occupied for a few hours."

"So ... You want me to keep you company?"

"If you have no others plans."

"I'd love to!"

Eren's enthusiasm released the pressure in Levi's chest. He hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath until that excitement hit his eardrums. Glancing down at his lap, he saw his fingers tightening into a fold of his trousers. He unclenched his hand and willed himself to relax. Eren was coming with him. That was okay, that was fine, he was old enough and it would be great to have someone to talk to rather than the two or so hours of silence and the buzzing of the needle.

"Levi?"

"Hm?"

"You went quiet again."

"Sorry." He sighed, "So will you be able to get here for 10AM?"

"Is that when the appointment is?"

"Well it's at 11AM but ... I'd prefer to get everything sorted out properly beforehand."

"Levi?"

"Hm?"

"Are you nervous?"

"I've been shot three times Eren, but yes, NEEDLES make me nervous," he bit out.

"Levi ..."

"I'd just prefer your company, kid," he groused. "Let's not make a big thing about it."

"Okay."

He could hear the smile in Eren's tone but decided not to argue about it anymore. Swallowing thickly he said, "We'd best get some sleep. Don't be late tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

"Brat."

"Grumpy."

Levi smirked. "Night kid."

"Goodnight Levi."

.

.

 **Saturday AM**

.

Eren bounced on the balls of his feet, the cool air making his limbs quake with the cold. He was waiting for Levi to meet him outside the train station. His train had gotten in early, so he wasn't surprised that the older man hadn't arrived yet. Within fifteen minutes he saw the familiar jet-black buzz-cut from down the road. The military style coat covered the lower half of Levi's face, making it hard for Eren to read him. He smiled regardless as he stooped a little to hug Levi tightly against his chest.

"Hey you," he hummed into Levi's ear.

"Hey brat," he quipped back, the deep rumble of his voice making Eren shiver pleasantly. "Did you get here okay?" he asked as he pulled away.

Eren nodded, "Yeah I've been here about ten minutes. Train was early for once."

Levi twitched a small smirk before jerking his head towards a downward-winding road. "It's just down this way. It's about a ten minute walk."

"That's okay, it's not so bad out today."

Levi directed him down a road that drooped in a rather steep decline towards the high street. They walked briskly side-by-side. They weren't pressed for time, Eren knew that, but he reasoned that the older man may very well be a bit on edge. They made it to a rather generic looking tattoo parlour and went inside. The interior was like the outside, painted in shades of red, white and black, with black leather seats, a reception desk and a doorway that led through into the back. The distinct sound of a buzzing needle could be heard in the background.

A blonde girl with a strong nose and bright blonde hair came down the hallway and stopped when she saw them. She eyed them both and went to seat herself behind the computer. Levi unbuttoned his coat and went over to the counter. "I'm here for my appointment with Bruno, Annie. I don't want to be kept waiting again."

"Bite me, Levi," the blonde girl said in a bored tone.

Nevertheless, her fingers tapped on the keys.

"I can see why you keep coming back here," Eren stated drily, eyeing the blonde girl over the counter.

Levi shot him a look. Tossing his coat onto the chair he sat down and motioned for Eren to do the same. Sinking down into the chair, Eren shrugged out of his own jacket and raked a hand through his hair. His leg started jiggling a little as the seconds ticked by loudly. Ten minutes ticked by before a broad-shouldered man with a short fuzzy beard and bald head came out of the room. He wiped his hands on a rag and recognition sparked in his eyes when he caught sight of Levi.

"Hey Levi right on time as always."

Levi smirked, "Do you expect anything less of me?"

Bruno smirked right back. "Alright smart-arse, room down the hall on the left, shirt off." He paused and frowned. "Who's the kid? Is he yours?"

"Fuck off," Levi bit out as he stood up. "He's coming in with me. He's thinking about getting some ink but wants to see it done. I figured this was as good a time as any."

"Whatever you say man," Bruno shrugged. He walked over and extended his hand towards Eren. "I'm Bruno."

"Eren."

"Nice to meet you, kid. Now come on, I ain't got all day."

Eren grabbed both of their coats from the chairs and held onto them tightly. Levi frowned but didn't object as he followed Bruno down into the familiar studio on the left. Eren trailed behind him, his body humming with hot energy that had no real release. The small studio was dark with what looked like a dentist-light hanging over the chair. There was a lot of gleaming equipment that made Eren's skin crawl. He sat down in a vacant chair and felt a prickly heat rush over his thighs. Levi had his back to him and was pulling his shirt up and off over his head.

His throat ran dry.

It was true that whilst in Lincoln he had caught glimpses of the black ink on the older man's body, however there was a difference seeing it in such bright lights. On the front, left side of his chest there was a bullet-hole like shattered glass right under where his heart was.

Where his lung IS.

The thought made cold sweat slick his skin.

How bad had the damage been? He hadn't ever asked Levi the sheer extent of his injuries. Witnessing the effects of his lack of sleep, no doubt thanks to the nightmares, was answer enough. As Levi turned to shoot him a look over his shoulder, Eren caught sight of more black ink peeking out from the base of his back, just to the right.

'The other one is on his leg,' his brain supplied. He flushed and ducked his eyes away.

The leather squeaked as Levi slid over it and leaned back, tilting his head back so he was staring at the ceiling.

Eren hadn't realised he was holding his breath until the buzzing of the needle stopped over an hour later. Levi had barely hissed or twitched at all during all that time, but Eren hadn't had the courage to look up and see that needle jab-jab-jabbing away at his alabaster skin. The squeaking of the chair as Levi slid to the end of his seat so he could stretch his back muscles drew Eren's attention up again.

The lines of the tattoo were bold and thick, looking raw against the angry red skin that out-lined it. Yet somehow it just added to Levi's good looks. Another little nod towards his rebellious days. Levi caught him gaping at his chest and smirked at the younger man.

"Like what you see, kid?"

"I uh ... Wow."

"Is that all you have to say?" Levi chuckled, a small hiss as Bruno swiped a cleansing wipe over the raw edges. Eren nodded dumbly. Levi quirked an eyebrow but said nothing as he stood up towards the tall mirror to inspect the work done. He admired it from an angle, and then the other, and nodded his approval. "You've not lost your touch, Bruno. Good job."

As Levi took his shirt and was pulling it on over his head, Eren took his phone out and snapped a quick photo. There was no way he could describe that tattoo in words to his sister. Not in any way that would do it justice.

"Take that damn thing off, Levi, and bandage it properly. No use getting an infection over a touch up."

As the two bickered in heated tones like old friends, Eren tried to suppress his sudden burst of hyper-tension and tapped a quick message to his sister on his phone.

 **[EREN 13:24PM]**

[.JPEG]

'My view right now. Jealous yet? :P'

 **[MIKASA 13:31PM]**

'I HATE YOU SO MUCH. FML!'

Eren snickered and tucked his phone away.

Levi crossed the distance between them, a white bandage poking out from the collar of his shirt, and motioned for his jacket. Eren handed it to him, gave a polite nod and a wave to Bruno, and then followed Levi out to the receptionist desk where Annie leaned over it, chewing on gum and tapping away at her phone.

"You done?" she asked, not looking up from the screen.

"Yes."

"One-eighty-five."

Levi handed over the notes, flicking through them idly as though that amount of money as no big deal to him. Eren forced his eyes away from the purple twenties, and focused on the traffic passing by outside. He was starving and really needed something to eat. "Do you fancy getting some lunch?" he asked as Levi pocketed the remaining money and turned towards the exit, not even saying 'bye' to Annie.

"Of course. Chinese?"

"Aren't we going to have that with your friends?" Eren grinned, his insides still humming.

Levi rolled his eyes. "Okay. Pub?"

"Sure, is there one around here?"

"There's one down this way."

They made it to the pub within ten minutes back up the high street and, once they both flashed their I.D.'s -something Eren snickered at -they settled down and grabbed the menu's. Once decided, Eren decided to be chivalrous and head up to the bar to order. Levi organised their belongings to bunch up down one end of the booth so it wasn't orbiting their food or their legs. Eren arrived and placed a pint in front of Levi and a coke in front of his vacant chair.

"So ... Are you anxious about tomorrow night?" he asked as he shuffled out of his jacket.

"A little," Levi stated, his shoulder's hunching.

"Have you ever met your boyf -er -other partner's parents before?"

Levi cocked an eyebrow and took a deliberately slow sip from his pint. He licked the froth from his lips and set the glass down. "I've met one ex's parents before. They were almost as strict as my own and didn't really approve of me. Not because I'm gay or their son was gay, they were oddly open about that."

Eren frowned. That sounded ... all sorts of wrong, already. "So ... What were they disapproving of?"

"Me."

"Just you?"

"Yes."

"Because ...?"

"They didn't approve of my being in the military."

"Was their son not ...?"

"No," Levi said tightly. "They thought we were a callous, unruly bunch that had a lay in every city."

Eren scrunched his forehead up so much Levi wondered if he could burst a blood vessel. "Sorry," Eren rubbed at his face and raked a hand through his hair. "I just -I don't understand how someone could disapprove of a soldier. Granted some people may not like the long-distance or the anxiety and things like that but ... To not like you purely because you were a soldier?" He shook his head.

Levi gave a humourless smile. "Sadly, not everyone likes the armed forces."

Eren rolled his eyes. It was amusing to Levi, to see Eren getting so defensive over his past issues. "Well, it doesn't matter what you were," he said in a heated tone, his arm reaching over the table to grasp at Levi's wrist. The action had been so quick Levi hadn't had the chance to pull away. "Now, you're a kind, patient, strict as Hell teacher and I love that."

Levi's head shot up, his expression unreadable save for his eyes. His eyes looked scared. "What did you say?"

Eren blanched a little but his grip didn't loosen from the older man's arm. "I said I love that about you."

The words rang in Levi's ears long after the food arrived.

.

.

By the time he walked Eren back to the train station later that afternoon, a dark cloud had settled over the older man's mood and Eren was working double-time to try and keep the atmosphere light and airy. However, by the time it came for him to work through the ticket barriers, he'd exhausted himself on every level. "Levi we can't keep going on like this," he sighed.

Levi barely felt his face twitch. "What do you mean?"

Eren seemed to falter for a second. "I ... I can't keep doing this," he said in an exasperated manner. "I know you've been patient with me but -I've also been patient with you."

"Have you now?"

"Yes," Eren hissed through gritted teeth. He had never posed a threat in any way until that moment. With that fire in his green eyes, he looked almost lethal. Levi had never been more away of their height different since the first time they'd met face-to-face. "You keep locking me out and pushing me away. In some ways you let me in and in other ways you don't. It hurts me, Levi. It really fucking hurts."

Levi swallowed but didn't say anything.

Eren was waiting for a reaction but whatever he was looking for, he wasn't getting it. He clicked his tongue and jiggled his leg, looking at everywhere except for Levi. He worked his jaw until he found the words. "Maybe it's best you don't come on Sunday," he finally said.

That shocked the older man into frowning up at the young giant. "What do you mean?"

"I mean ..." Eren clenched his eyes and fists, willing the words out of his mouth. "I mean that I want my parents to meet my boyfriend."

Levi flinched a little at the word.

"And I don't think you're ready to be that."

"Eren we talked about this."

"No, you talked and I listened," the young man snapped. "It's been almost four whole months, Levi. I am so close to just finishing my dissertation. Do you really think calling you 'my boyfriend' is going to change my progress?" Silence. "Do you?"

"Look kid -"

"Whatever," Eren cut across him. "Do whatever you want, Levi. It's what you do best, looking out for yourself, right? But can you do just one thing for me?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Don't come to see me on Sunday."

"So you suddenly don't want me to meet your parents?" Levi asked, his upper lip curling a little.

"Not like this," Eren said, the fire gone from his belly. All he felt was anxiety and exhaustion. A lethal combination for the young man. A quick glance up at the timetable chart showed him that his train was imminent. "Look, I need to go. I'll see you around."

Levi was too stunned to react until he saw Eren's head disappear around the corner of the door. He dug his phone out of his pocket and tried dialling the little shit's number.

Straight to voicemail.

Fuck.

.

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

"ISSY STOP HITTING ME!"

"NO!" Isabel snapped at him, continuing her assault on the brunette shielding himself behind a cushion. In retrospect, he probably shouldn't have confided in her of all people about what had happened. It didn't help that she'd gone straight to jabbing his fresh ink, and he was NOT having that on top of the emotional bullshit raging inside his head.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS AGAIN?!"

"Farlan can you control your woman?!"

"Staying out of it," the blonde man intoned as he casually went to the neighbouring armchair and eased down into the cushions.

Levi glowered at his friend but was too distracted by Isabel smacking him with a rolled-up newspaper like he was a dog that pissed on the rug. Thankfully, his reflexes enables him to swipe the newspaper out of Isabel's hand -honestly, who read the newspaper anymore? -and smacked her hard across the head before tossing the offending object across the room. That didn't stop the redhead from glaring up at him.

"What do you mean 'do this again'?" he snapped.

"You do this all the time. ALL the time!" she snapped. "Every time someone tries to get a little bit close to you, you pull away!"

"Like you'd have been happy with me staying with any of those wankers."

"Eren is different!"

"You've not even met him."

"I don't have to!" Isabel shrieked, tears in her eyes. "I've seen the change in you, Levi, even if you haven't even noticed it."

He scoffed.

"It's true!" she insisted. "You're calmer at work from what Erwin says, you're going out more, you're not spending all your time being holed up at work or in silence, and you're SMILING. Do you know how long it's been since we last saw you properly SMILE?!"

"You mean other than the time I handcuffed Hange to a tractor?"

Isabel glared. "Farlan, back me up here?"

"Three year, nine months, two weeks and a day."

Isabel gestured at her boyfriend with an 'I told you so' expression on her enraged face. Levi rolled his eyes. "And you think Eren is some sort of miracle cure?" he drawled.  
"He may not be a miracle, Levi, but anyone who can make you smile? Or daydream? Isn't that worth swallowing whatever black sludge you have in your brain and accept that he wants to be your sodding boyfriend?!"

Levi flinched at the word but remained silent.

He didn't fancy getting hit again.

"Although at this point I'm starting to think he dodged a bullet," Isabel quipped.

Levi shot a glare down at her. "Oh, that's what you think?" he asked coldly.

She shrugged theatrically. "Prove me wrong, Levi," she challenged. "Get that tree-trunk out of your arse and prove. Me. Wrong."

"You really think that's going to work on me?"

Isabel faltered.

Farlan cleared his throat, not even taking his eyes off the football on the TV. "I think you and I need to go for a bike-ride, mate."

Both Levi and Isabel blinked over at him in confusion.

"And that's going to solve this, is it?" Levi quipped.

Farlan turned to look at them and nodded. "I do."

Levi rolled his eyes but sighed. "Fine. I'll gear up."

He strode out of their apartment before Isabel could even stutter an argument.

.

.

The roads were dark, only pockmarked by the irregular lampposts stationed along the motorway's edge. The engine roared around him, rumbling heavily between his thighs and his leather gear was stiff and cool on his skin. The wind rushed against him, he could feel it pressing heavily against his chest. Farlan gunned his way down in the neighbouring lane, swerving a little to one side to let another bike go past. The muffled roar of the engine's pressed against Levi's ears. It had been such a long time since he'd ridden his bike -he'd missed it.

They'd been riding a little recklessly by the time Farlan indicated to pull off down a smaller road. When Levi parked his bike and leaned back to take his helmet off, he groaned loudly. He ached all over and having the cushioned, vice-like grip of his helmet pop off left him feeling too 'airy' up top. As though there was too much space around his head.

Farlan paced near his bike, cracking his muscles and raking his damp hair out of his eyes. Levi did the same, feeling muscles creak and crack through the darkness. Traffic hushed by in the distance, but most sound still seemed like cotton wool in his ears. Farlan motioned him over to sit on a weathered metal railing over-looking a deep black ditch that bled into an even darker field beyond. His thighs ached a little as he hunched his shoulders, Farlan seemingly looming beside him. The click of a lighter sounded like a gunshot in the darkness. Levi quirked an eyebrow.

"Thought you've given up."

"This seemed like an emergency," Farlan shrugged.

Levi hummed, his mouth running dry. They were silent for a little while, the breeze rustling the leaves.

"What's going on with you, man?" he asked, his breath misting slightly in the cool air.

Levi shrugged with a grunt. "I really don't know."

"Eren's a good kid. Don't do this shit to him."

"No offence, Farlan, but you've not even met him. Please don't pretend to know how he thinks."

"I know that he retracted a heartfelt offer for you to integrate with his family," the blonde man countered calmly. "I don't know many people who do that who are happy with their partners."

Levi bristled.

"Did you not want to meet his parents?"

"I can handle his parents."

"That's not what I asked, but okay." Silence. Farlan cleared his throat, "You need to take a chance once in a while, Levi. You're allowed to be happy, you know."

Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That worked out so well for me in the past, hasn't it."

Farlan shrugged, "Shit happens, as you always tell us. Why can't you swallow your own advice?"

Ah, the million pound question.

"I feel like I have nothing to give him," Levi finally said, his fingers deftly accepting the cigarette. The taste was raw and acrid on his tongue but it was also familiar. He blew a plume of smoke into the air.

"How so?"

"He has parents, a big friendship circle, studies are ending so he'll be getting a good job. What if it takes him places and he gets bored of being around a teacher who's ten years older?"

Farlan snickered. "That's a l-o-t of problems, mate."

Levi took another drag and sighed heavily. "I just -He won't get to meet my parents. I don't want him to meet my friends ..." he trailed off.

"Well if that's all that's holding you back, that's a pretty shit list."

Levi sighed. "He wants romance, Farlan. He wants romance, cosy Christmas', fun holidays and watching silly movies while it rains outside -and all that other kind of bullshit."

"And you're worried because romance is your kryptonite, I get it." Levi shot him a deadly glare, but Farlan was pretty much immune to anything Levi could throw at him. "You may be rusty but there's nothing wrong with making the effort for him."

"I would do anything to make the effort for him."

"So why complicate matters?" Farlan asked, jostling Levi's shoulder. "Go and make the effort."

"It's not that simple."

"It won't be if you keep on like this."

Levi hummed.

"Do you want to go back?" Farlan asked as he accepted the cigarette, took a long, last drag and then dropped the butt on the floor and ground it out under his boot. "Come on, Issy should have calmed down by now."

Levi snorted. "Yeah sure, whatever," he groused, forcing himself up off the fence and stretching his muscles out again before picking up his helmet and making his way to his bike. Farlan followed suit. Straddling their bikes, they secured their helmets into place, kicked their kick-stands out from underneath them and revved their engines. They pulled out onto the main road and, swerving in and out of cars, made their way back home.

.

.

 **Sunday AM**

.

In the early hours of the morning, when the sky was still dark outside the window, Levi lie in his bed trying hard not to dig his nails into his skin. His body was cool, the covered tattoo an irritating reminder of what had happened just twelve hours ago. He drew in a deep breath and rolled up into a sitting position. Hunched over in his bed with no back support made him feel every one of his thirty-four years.

Even his breathing sounded forced.

'Is this how you want to spend your time at home?' his brain asked, haunting and resolute in the dark silence. 'Sulking and being miserable? Or are you going to give yourself a chance and see how things go with Eren?'

"It's no good. He doesn't want me to meet his parents. He made that perfectly clear."

'Does that really mean he wants you out of his life? Or does it just mean he wants to see more commitment from you?'

"What if committing to me is a huge mistake?"

'Then let him make it,' his brain stated in a condescending tone. 'You don't need to be another father to this kid. He wants you to be his boyfriend -decide what you want to be.'

Goddamnit, even his brain was against him.

Even if it did have a point.

.

.

Levi didn't sleep for the rest of the morning until he fell unconscious around 8AM. It wasn't until much later that afternoon that he finally roused himself again, his tattoo a raw pain on his chest, burning down into his heart. It felt like a raw spike bunching through him.

His body got to its feet and moved before his brain could process what was happening. He had a long hot bath, listening to some random songs that got suggested on his Youtube channel. They ran in circles in his head.

He dressed in a dark blue shirt with an ornate floral pattern in a similar dark blue, along with his dress shoes and a pair of snug, dark jeans. He took all of ten seconds in his kitchen to select a bottle of wine from his rack before grabbing his black coat from the hook in the hallway and donning it. Grabbing his car keys off the side-table, he left his flat and made his way down to his car, almost wanting to knock on Isabel and Farlan's door to show them that he was making the effort for Eren. He continued on, ignoring their door, and within five minutes had revved his engine and was pulling out onto the main road.

He was anxious as he pulled into the Blackwall tunnel and made his way through the tightly packed London roads. People were idiotic and it was no wonder that people ended up in crashed left, right and centre. It didn't serve to improve Levi's nerves, either. He didn't show his emotions, but that didn't mean that his insides weren't a bundle of hot wires buzzing each muscle at random.

It was nearing 7PM when he pulled into a suburban area he vaguely recognised as Eren's. That was good and bad. Good that he'd remembered where he was and bad because that meant the time between solitude and meeting Eren's parents was shrinking rapidly.

"Deep breaths," he coaxed himself, forcing his hands to unfasten the seat-belt and check his hair in the mirror. Doing the top button of his coat up, he grabbed the bottle of wine by the neck and opened the car door. "Now or never."

The air was cooling to his flushed skin as he locked the car door and crossed the road towards the house. How was it that illuminated windows looked so daunting? Why was he heart skipping a beat? He mounted the doorstep and paused, his heart thrumming and his fingers so tight around the bottle of wine, he was surprised that the glass didn't shatter.

Breathe in ... and out ...

In ... And out ...

Before he could talk himself out of it -he knocked on the door.

To his relief Eren opened the door and the look of sheer shock on his face almost made the anxiety worth it. Almost.

"W-what are you doing here?"

Before Levi could answer, a woman's voice called out from down the hallway. "Eren who's at the door?"

Eren's mouth opened and closed uselessly. "Er ... I ..."

"It's Levi, Mrs. Jaeger!" Levi called out, projecting his voice and clearly into the hall beyond. "Eren's boyfriend!"

"Oh good, you're just in time for dinner!"

Eren stiffened a little as he held onto the door-frame. "Boyfriend?" he whispered with a frown.

Levi quirked an eyebrow, feeling at a loss for words and trying to remain in control of his emotions. "Yes," he said. "If -you'll have me?"

The smile that exploded across Eren's face could have lit up an entire city for a month. Levi felt that light rush through him, banishing the dark, panicked thoughts that permeated in the back of his mind. "Of course I'll have you, you grumpy old git!" Eren grinned, grabbing Levi's coat collar and pulling him in for a deep kiss. Levi barely had time to enjoy it before the shock of fresh air was upon him again. "Come on, best not keep them waiting ... Boyfriend."

Levi smirked, "You're such a brat."

"The word is 'boyfriend'," Eren correct cheekily. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Levi followed the younger man in the front door. "I'm sure I will."

The door clicked shut behind him.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you liked the update!**

 **Unfortunately I won't be able to update AS readily as before, because I am trying to pound-out a Halloween story so wish me luck with that! Love! x**


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N: So here's a nice, long, meaty update for you guys! Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

The atmosphere in the dining room was almost oppressive. Levi couldn't help but feel as though someone had stuck a rod down his spine. He felt like he was attending a parent-teacher meeting at some rich kid's house, about to inform their parents that the brat in question was severely pissing him off and was going to be held back a year if they didn't stop molly-coddling him. Then remind them that he didn't take bribes and their kid's grades were not for sale.

He suppressed a sigh and readjusted his position in the chair that had been appointed to him. Dr. Jaeger wasn't home yet, as far as he could tell, and Eren had offered to help his mother in the kitchen. He had felt torn between leaving Levi alone and looking like a spoiled brat to his mother, so he'd eventually offered to help her out in the kitchen.  
Levi didn't mind being alone; it gave him some time to observe his surroundings.  
The dining room was neatly decorated however had the distinct air of an OCD cleanliness which he could relate to only too well. The table was made of a chunky, dark wood. The carpet was soft and plush underfoot and the cushioned chairs were upholstered in a mustard yellow colour whilst the walls were painted a dark, rich blue. It was very chic and definitely feminine without being garish. From the kitchen there was the sound of pots and pans clattering around as food was being prepared. Eren came in and flushed pink as he served them all drinks around the table.

"Sorry!" he whispered. "I don't mean to keep disappearing!"

Levi offered a dry smile. "Eren, go and help your mother. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Eren asked, worrying his bottom lip.

"Yes. Go."

Five minutes later Eren and Carla were carrying in large dishes of food and placing it on the leather place-mats spread over the table. Carla was almost exactly how Levi had imagined her; a soft-faced woman with bright eyes like her son and an even brighter smile. Her hair was a rich dark brown that hung in voluminous waves down past her shoulders. She looked relaxed, despite living with such a man as Dr. Jaeger.

"I hope you like ox tail soup, breaded chicken, potatoes and noodles," Carla beamed as she carried in two more large dishes.

Levi forced a smile. "I've not had ox-tail soup, but I'm open to trying new things."

"I'm glad to hear that. Maybe you can impart some wisdom into my son," she gave Eren a pointed look. He flushed and averted his gaze as he settled into the chair beside Levi. Just as Carla was about to sit down, a key clicked in the front door alerting them to the arrival of Dr. Jaeger.

" _Carla I'm home!"_ he called from the hallway.

Levi felt tense. Eren clearly did too, because he shot the older man a troubled look. Levi reached out and squeezed his shoulder and stood up as Dr. Jaeger entered the dining room. He stopped and narrowed his eyes as he confronted the stranger at his dinner table. There was a tense silence.

Somehow, Carla came to the rescue.

"Darling, this is Levi, Eren's boyfriend. He's joining us for dinner tonight, remember?"

A jaw ticked in the older man's jaw.

"Yes," he finally said. "I remember."

He made no move to introduce himself or defuse the hostility that had clouded the air in the house as soon as he'd stepped in over the threshold. Levi, deciding to be the bigger man –metaphorically –forced himself to extend his hand. "Levi Ackerman," he stated. "I've been looking forward to meeting Eren's family."

Grisha narrowed his eyes but reluctantly shook the offered hand.

If anything, the atmosphere only thickened.

"Let's sit down before the good gets cold," Carla scolded good-naturedly as she ushered her husband toward the dining room, shooting an apologetic look at Levi. He thought nothing of it and returned to the vacant chair beside Eren. "Help yourself," she insisted once she'd ladled some ox-tail soup into her bowl.

Levi did just that, even filling Eren's own bowl without a second thought. Oddly enough anything positive he seemed to do so far had earned his brownie points for Carla and Eren, and nails in his coffin in regards to Grisha. He could live with that.

As they started to eat, Carla engaged her son in a generic conversation about school, Mikasa's latest antics and how Armin was adjusting to his current work-load. Grisha eventually contributed to the conversation and how Eren needed to prioritise what else he wanted to do with himself. He needed to make sure he graduated with a high grade. That he needed to save up his money and get himself driving soon otherwise he wouldn't be able to commute to a proper job. Levi focused on eating his food. He tried not to let his blood pressure rise at the implications that Eren wasn't doing enough to motivate himself to do better. All Levi saw half the time was Eren bent over his laptop or his notebooks with a pen caught between his teeth.

No one could ever say the boy didn't push himself.

"So, Levi, do you drive?" Carla asked naively, even though Eren had told her at least three times that he did. She was trying to engage him and Levi was both irritated and impressed that she was doing it so boldly.

"Yes as a matter-of-fact, I do," he stated as neutrally as possible. He focused on cutting his chicken and biting into a piece. He swallowed, took a sip of his drink –non-alcoholic –and set the glass down. "I have two vehicles; one I drive during the week and one occasionally on the weekends."

"What do you drive?"

"I have a black Vauxhall that's parked outside, and on the weekends I tend to ride my motorbike."

"Did you know that motorcyclists are twenty-nine times more likely to be killed in a collision?" Grisha stated with a bland smile as though he was asking if Levi knew the sky was blue.

"I did," he replied tightly. "What of it?"

"Just seems silly that a man with a role such as yourself would want to take such unnecessary risks."

"Well I bought that bike when I was seventeen," Levi replied as casually as he could muster. "If I don't maintain and ride it, it'll get rusty and refuse to work."

"Is that such an issue when your life is at stake every time you ride?"

Levi looked up and took a drink, his eyes trained on Grisha. He did not like this man. He wasn't how Levi pictured him with his small, round glasses and mane of long, dark hair tied at the nape of his neck –honestly, he didn't know any doctor who had such long hair beyond the student age –however that didn't mean Levi despised him any less than he had a few weeks ago.

"The same could be said for people who drive cars," Levi said. "The amount of people who get caught in collisions and often die is hardly one to turn your nose up at, yet you still drive, you still want your son to drive, and I imagine a great number of your co-workers drive. So you see, we all take unnecessary risks, as you put it. However, I know how the road works and I abide the laws. That's how you stay safe, Mr. Jaeger."

The two men eyed one another across the table.

Eren made a point of clearing his throat loudly. "I've seen his bike. It's pretty cool."

Grisha's head snapped to his son. "I hope you've not ridden on it," he said sharply. "You barely know how to drive a car!"

An angry flushed crept up Eren's neck. "I wasn't going to, Dad, I was just saying I'd seen it."

"Well if Eren wants to learn to drive a bike, as long as he's safe, what's the issue?" Carla challenged.

There was another tense silence.

Grisha returned his attention to his son, "So how are the driving lessons coming along, Eren?" he asked. "Are you preparing to take your test soon?"

"I –no, my instructor says I still have a long way to go."

That clearly was not something Grisha wanted to hear. "I paid for the top instructor's for you, Eren. You need to pay more attention otherwise you're not going to get anywhere, fast."

Eren bristled but visibly clenched his jaw and bowed his head.

Levi felt a wave of protectiveness surge through him.

"I'd be more than happy to give Eren some pointers, if that's not too much of an inconvenience," Levi smiled more at Carla.

"Would you really?" Eren asked with bright eyes, before anyone else could object. Levi looked up into those brilliant green eyes and felt his heart melt. If there was anything he could do to make this kid's life easier –he'd be more than happy to go tired for months on end to make that so. "That would be amazing!"

Levi smiled, feeling as though a weight had dropped from his shoulders. "Of course I would," he stated gently. "Besides, I've been driving for almost twenty years."

"I've been driving for over thirty," Grisha interrupted. "Does that mean I'd make a better teacher?"

"Yes," Levi agreed. "However, your job means you tend to work late hours. I have more free time, so I'd happily bear the brunt if it means Eren can develop himself."

"Does that include his university work?"

Ah, there it was.

It had been a good hour or so into dinner and they'd skirted the topic until now.

"Eren has nearly finished his dissertation," Levi stated as calmly as he could. "He has come a long way in a short space of time and if I were his tutor, I'd be impressed."

"You're a secondary school teacher, is that right?"

"Yes."

"So what would you know about what is expected of students at University level?"

Levi's temper snapped. It was like the crack of a whip in his skull. "I could say the same thing about you, Mr. Jaeger."

"That's Doctor Jaeger."

"You're not my doctor," Levi stated coldly. "As far as I'm concerned you're just a man with a high-functioning job."

Before Grisha could open his mouth, Carla cut in. "Let's settle down now, both of you," she stated, her voice having a calm yet cutting edge to it. Levi settled back down into his seat and was grateful for the weight of Eren's palm on his thigh under the table. He shifted and squeezed back, forcing himself to draw in calming breaths. "Now, Eren darling, why don't you tell us about your time up in Lincoln?"

This seemed to be the right question to ask as Eren launched into a description of what they got up to in Lincoln. Despite the turbulent weather, they'd made the best of the quieter surroundings and –leaving out the part where they shared a bed almost every night –Carla seemed to approve of her son having some down-time. Not to mention, his grades hadn't suffered as she'd feared so there was no real harm done. It was only when Eren got to the part of trekking over the farmlands, when Grisha let out a long, weary sigh.

"So what plans do you have in regards to my son?"

' _Well we got to that rather quick_ ,' Levi thought dryly as he set his knife and fork down on the plate. "I'm not sure I understand your question."

"Why him? Why not someone more your own age?"

"Grisha!"

"No, Carla, we've both thought of it at one point or another," he stated sternly. She let her mouth clamp up although her displeasure was clear on her face. Turning back to Levi, Grisha visibly tilted his head in an attempt to intimidate the man before him. "Well? Why did you continue talking to my son?"

"I found him interesting," Levi answered honestly.

"Through texts?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "How else do you communicate with people? As far as he was concerned I was as much a stranger to him as he was to me."

"So why didn't you stop?"

"Despite what you may think, Mr. Jaeger," Levi took pleasure in the way the man flinched at the honorific. "Eren is vibrant, talented and incredibly smart. He has his quirks just like anyone, but he manages to put up with me and not a lot of people can do that."

"So you're not worried about the issues my son has?"

"His issues?" Levi frowned. He was good at feigning interest; he did every parent-teacher evening. If this arrogant bastard thought that a few behavioural ticks was going to be an issue for him, then he severely underestimated just how much Levi could endure.

"It was originally diagnosed as a mild form of ADHD."

"Dad!"

"Quiet, Eren."

"Sir, I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat your adult son as though he were four-years-old."

Grisha narrowed his eyes. "I'd appreciate if _you_ left my house, so I suppose we are at an impasse."

"Grisha enough!" All heads turned to Carla as she slammed her hands into the table. "I want you to leave this table," she muttered in a low, cool voice.

"Carla don't you dare –"

"I said I want you to leave this table," she repeated a little louder, fixing her bright eyes onto her husband. "Now."

Grisha ground his teeth together. He knew better than to argue with his wife. He swallowed and deliberately took his time wiping his mouth on his napkin and adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Fine," he finally said. "I'll be in my study."

The other three were silent as he stood up and left the room.

They waited until they heard a door upstairs slam shut with too much force.

Carla sighed, dropping her head forward. Her hair fell around her face, blocking it from view. Her shoulders shook a little as she tried to maintain her composure. Taking a deep breath she shot them a quick, watery smile before excusing herself to the kitchen. Before the door closed Levi heard a distinct sniff. Eren was about to stand up and run after his mother but Levi put a firm hand on his wrist. "Stay here," he said as gently as he could. "I don't think you're going to want to hear what she has to say."

Eren gave a deadpan look up at his boyfriend. "You realise I'll just listen at the door, right?"

Levi rolled his eyes and patted Eren on the head. "Behave, brat."

Standing up, he dusted any imaginary crumbs from his trousers and moved towards the door that led into the kitchen. He knocked gently and didn't get any response, so he pushed the door inwards and went inside. Carla was bracing herself over the kitchen sink, her shoulders shaking. Levi cleared his throat causing her to jump and spin to face him.

"Oh, Levi!" she raked her hands through her hair and hastily rubbed at her cheeks. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this nonsense to start up again!" She let out another loud sniff.

Levi glanced around the kitchen, spotted the tissues and ripped one off the roll and offered it to her.

"Thanks," she said, accepting the tissue. She dabbed at her eyes. "I'm really sorry about this," she repeated. "I honestly thought Eren's dad was going to be kinder to you when you met face-to-face."

Levi inclined his head, "It was worth a try."

Carla pressed her lips together, clearly trying to control her emotions. Levi had the urge to touch her shoulder or comfort her in some way but his lack of knowledge and practice in such a situation, stopped him. Eventually, Carla dabbed her eyes dry and drew in a calming breath. "Okay, sorry about that," she cleared her throat. "Would you like to help me bring dessert in?"

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," she waved him off. As she opened the fridge to take out the tub of strawberry mousse and chocolate cake she paused, turning to look at Levi over her shoulder. "You know, I know we didn't have the greatest start, but I can see how good you are for my son. Even prior to tonight. I just wanted a chance to sit down with you properly."

Levi offered a smile but it felt strained.

"And you're more than welcome here whenever you like."

"What about your husband?"

"Ignore Grisha," she sighed. "He'll either come round when he wants to, or he can get used to being excluded."

"Is that wise? To exclude your husband?"

"This isn't the first time he's had an issue, Levi," Carla said, grabbing some spoons from the drawer. "Mikasa has had a fair few boyfriends over the years."

"For what it's worth," Levi began as he took one of the large plates off the counter. "I don't think Eren would be where he is now without your support."

The smile Carla gave him in that moment was radiant.

Together they carried the dessert into the dining room.

Eren sat up a little straighter at the table; his eyes were wide with worry, his lip had been chewed raw and he had been gripping the bottom edge of the tablecloth. "Is … everything okay?" he asked, green eyes darting from one to the other.

Carla smiled and nodded her head, "Everything's fine, love. Let's not worry about anything else okay? Let's just focus on demolishing this dessert."

Levi chuckled as Eren's face lit up at the sight of the chocolate cake. "Calm down, kid, or you're going to give your eyes diabetes."

"That's literally not a thing!" he protested.

"Then you'd be the first and only case and no one would be able to cure you."

Eren's jaw dropped open before he burst out laughing. "Your face is so hard to read sometimes!"

Carla watched the two young men in front of her with rapt attention; the way Levi was clearly so reserved but his exterior was cracked whenever Eren shot him an adoring look, or placed a tender hand on his shoulder whilst laughing was wonderful to watch. When Levi stood up to get them some more drinks, he paused to ruffle his hand through Eren's hair, making the younger man nearly choke on his mousse.

All too soon it was getting late and Levi needed to make his way home. He had school first thing in the morning and there was to be a meeting for all faculty members. He was dreading it but the easy end to the meal with Carla and Eren had definitely improved his mood. The sheer relief he felt that he and Eren had a better understanding of their own relationship was … heart-warming. It was scary –but in a good way. Levi helped Carla clear the table and she retreated back into the kitchen to start washing the dishes, politely declining Levi's offer to help.

If there was one thing he could definitely do, it was wash dishes.

However, he let himself be escorted to the hallway by Eren. Taking his coat down from the hook, he shrugged it on, mentally bracing himself for the cool night air, and turned to look down at his boyfriend.

 _Boyfriend._

The word still rang out in his head.

Eren stood awkwardly, looming over Levi like a small giant. Despite being so tall and toned, he still had an immature shyness about him that Levi had to admit, was endearing. Smirking up at the brunette he said, "I think that went a lot better towards the end. At least your mother likes me."

Eren smiled, "I'm glad she does. Dad was always going to be a pain in the arse to please."

Levi snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, he's not keeping me away from you. He can try. In fact, I'd _love_ to see him try. Nothing is keeping me away from you again."

Eren felt his stomach flip.

He wrapped his arms around the shorter man and squeezed him close. "I … I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

Levi hugged him back. "Good. You're stuck with me."

Eren chuckled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

With an internal groan, Levi unwound himself from Eren's embrace. "Come on, kid, we both have to be up early tomorrow."

Eren pouted but let Levi take a step away. "Text me when you're home?"

"Of course I will, brat."

Grinning, the young man stooped down and pressed a slow, burning kiss to Levi's lips. "Be safe."

"Always," Levi grunted, his insides stirring as the feel of Eren's lips lingered in his own. With such effort, he turned on the doorstep and left.

Eren slid the chain into place and felt the jittery excitement dampen down inside him a little. He drew in a deep calming breath and wondered back down the hallway to the kitchen where his mother was cleaning the dishes.

"Do you need any help?" he asked from the doorway.

"No, darling, I'm fine," she flashed a smile over her shoulder. "Is Levi gone?"

"Yeah he just left."

"He seems really nice."

"You think so?"

"Of course," Carla chuckled. "He's polite, respectful and didn't really rise to your dad's bait. That takes some serious will-power, and we both know that." She gave him a pointed look and he flushed. "As for you two dating, I have no problems with it."

"Really?"

"Honestly, darling, he's made something of himself with limited resources and honestly? I think he'll be good for you. He's already proven that he cares about your future and your education. I don't believe he's going to be hindering anything you put your mind to."

Eren let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that."

Carla laughed and nodded, "I understand that."

Eren came up behind his mum and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. She smelled soft and warm and flowery, as she always had. He squeezed. "Thank you for being the best mum in the world," he murmured.

"Thank you for being a wonderful son."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before unwinding himself. "I'm gonna head up and do some more notes for my essay. Not long now before the deadline."

"Go on then," she swatted him away with a tea-towel. "I'll bring you up some tea in a little while."

"Thanks."

~0~

The following morning as he got ready for work, Levi found that he felt lighter than he had in a long time. He walked around his flat with a noticeable spring in his step, even though he berated himself whenever he was aware of doing such things. He even had breakfast that morning along with a tall mug of black coffee. Something had shifted in his world and the planet hadn't imploded at his feet.

Today was going to be a new day, a good day with a step in the right direction. It was exhilarating.

The drive to his school campus was almost enjoyable. He even indulged in some light radio music until he got to the car park. Killing the engine, Levi climbed out of the car, grabbed his briefcase from the back seat and marched towards the building, enjoying the cool sunshine on his face. He barely paid any attention to the police car that was parked up out front. He even nodded to the two policeman as they spoke with the receptionist. They gave him a polite enough smile and nod in return, as he clocked in and made his way through the maze of corridors to his office.

He checked his emails and then made his way down the hall towards the staff-room, where the meeting was being held. He raised an eyebrow as the two policemen were present and idly wondered if this was about crimes that may have been committed in the local areas. He settled down in a vacant chair.

Erwin stood up to the front of the room and cleared his throat. He looked nervous. Levi frowned; there were very few things that made Erwin nervous and something had happened to cause such a stir in the older man. "Ladies and Gentlemen I'm afraid this meeting will need to be run by my Deputy, Alfred. These police-officers have brought a matter to my attention that needs to be resolved." His large blue eyes landed a little too long on Levi and he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

 _Shit._

What was going on?

With a discreet nod of his head, Levi excused himself and made his way out of the room, feigning a need for the bathroom. A few, long minutes later Erwin exited the room with the police officers. Levi stood to attention. "What's going on here, Erwin?" he asked bluntly.

"These gentleman received an anonymous phone call this morning. There have been allegations made about you that need to be addressed."

Levi bristled. "What allegations?"

"Sir, are you Levi Ackerman?" one of the officer's asked.

"I am."

"Have you been in a relationship with an underage student?"

"Of course not!" he snapped. "I barely like people my own age let alone kids."

The officer raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "We need to ask you some questions, if you don't mind?"

Levi wanted to object, he truly did, but he knew from experience that he was innocent until proven guilty. It wasn't his job to prove his innocence, it was their job to prove his guilt. With a sigh, he nodded. "Of course. Please, follow me to my office."

He nodded to Erwin.

He could handle this.

Erwin nodded back and watched them retreat down the hallway.

When they got to his office, Levi opened the door and let the two officer's walk in ahead of him. They stood to attention until Levi offered them both a seat. Shutting the door so that no one could eavesdrop on the conversation, Levi settled himself into his own seat behind the desk, his nerves bundled into knots in the pit of his stomach as he entwined his fingers on his desk.

"Now, officers, what is this all about and how can I be of assistance?"

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, I'm so evil! But at least I gave you guys the dinner scene! xox**


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N: So here's a nice, long, meaty update for you guys! Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

 **Monday PM**

.

.

Levi squeezed the small stress ball in his palm over and over.

If he wasn't careful he was going to tear a hole in it.

His insides felt like they'd been dunked in ice-water. His mind was still blank in the aftermath of that morning, but it hadn't caught up with the rest of the day yet. Somehow he'd managed to find his way back home and sit down in his armchair. He hadn't moved and it was already starting to get dark outside. He couldn't even remember if he'd answered the messages on his phone or not.

A knock came from his door but he didn't have the power to go and answer it.

Eventually, there was the sound of metal on metal, a key grinding in the lock and then the rush of cool air coming in from the communal hallway.

" _Levi?"_

Ah, Isabel was here.

" _Dude are you in here?_ "

And Farlan.

" _L-E-V-I!_ "  
Shit. Four-eyes was here too. Which meant Mike was probably somewhere behind her.

Suddenly the lights were on, searing his eyes. The heavy silence that had felt like a muffled helmet around his head was shattered, and the presence of too many bodies and sounds was over-whelming. He was barely able to untangle himself away from their groping hands before hurrying down the hall and locking himself away in the bathroom.

Hyperventilating, he ripped his clothes off, buttons scattering everywhere and stepped into the shower. He wrenched the hot tap on and yelled out loud as the scorching water rushed over his cold skin.

It burned. Everything burned!

He scoured himself raw with the scrubbing brush, wincing as the hard bristles scratched over his renewed tattoo. He almost ripped a chunk out of his cheek as he bit into it to suppress the rest of his screams. Once his body burned raw from the intense scrubbing and hot water, he hunched down against the cold porcelain, pressing the heels of his hands over his mouth and let out more screams.

Someone knocked on the door.

" _Levi? Levi open the door, you need to talk about this!"_

He couldn't answer her. He didn't have the words for the panic he was suddenly feeling inside him.

" _Levi! Don't make us call Erwin! You know he'll come!"_

It almost made him get up –almost –but his legs refused to move out from underneath him. The voices outside seemed to muffle down to a quieter conversation. He drew in deep breaths, begging his insides to calm down, to unknot themselves and let him relax. His eyes had streamed with tears as he'd soaked himself, however now they were sore, raw and all he wanted to do was to sleep.

Swallowing down the gooey lump in his throat, he stood up, using the shower rain as a support rod, and heaved himself out of the tub. He shut the water off and gingerly dried himself off, shuddering at the cooler air around him. He managed to claw on his clothes, wincing as they stuck to his damp skin. He dried his hair roughly with a towel, not wanting water to soak through his collared shirt. Unlocking the door he glanced down the hallway. No one was waiting to ambush him as far as he could see. He just needed a few minutes to gather his thoughts. There was a light coming from the lounge and hushed tones telling him that everyone was in there waiting for him to come out.

Taking himself to his bedroom he quickly stripped out of his clothes and took his time drying himself off properly. Once his hair was blown-dry and he had changed into clean, dry pyjamas, Levi caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He looked shocked –like he hadn't expected someone to be looking back at him. His mind was still reeling inside his head, desperately trying to catch-up with the events of the day. ' _I can do this_ ,' he thought, mentally steeling himself. ' _They just want to know what happened. That's all_.'

Yet, it still took him another ten minutes to muster up the courage to turn the door-handle and leave the sanctity of his bedroom.

His living-room had been transformed; all the chairs and been positioned into a circle formation, including the two large bean-bags from Issy and Farlan's apartment down the hall. He felt the air escape him. This was not a comforting sight. He really wanted to just be left alone. Clearing his throat, he made all their heads turn to look at him.

Suddenly, he was ambushed with hugs and questions asking if he was okay.

He was wrestled down into one of the armchairs and handed a mug of strong, unsweetened tea. He was encouraged to drink it, almost choking in the process but somewhat grateful as he hadn't eaten since getting home that day. It took a little while before they settled down, giving him some much needed space and clarity to the situation. All his friends were here –that meant Erwin must have at least told one of them –probably Hange –and the message had spread like wildfire among his little circle.

Glancing at the clock on the radio told him that it was only 6PM.

Settling the mug down, he watched as everyone resumed their seats, the small snacks spread of the table crinkling as Hange helped herself to a handful of crisps. Issy sipped on her own mug of tea, knees drawn to her chest as she watched him with wide, brown eyes. "Levi?" she finally breathed, as though scared he'd bolt back to his bedroom. "What exactly happened today?"

Her tone was so gentle and caring it almost brought more tears to his eyes. Almost.

Fingering a frayed thread on the hem of his shirt, he drew in a few deep breaths. "Two police officers came in this morning," he started, his breath already hitching. "There was an accusation against me that I was having an affair with an under-aged student."

"WHAT?!"

He winced at the combined voices.

"What the fuck?"

"Who would say something like that?"

"Do they mean Eren? I thought he was twenty-one!"

"Okay!" Levi yelled over them all, effectively silencing them all. They watched him with angry, confused faces. ' _Yes_ ,' he thought. ' _I felt that exact same way_.' He drew in a deep breath but dropped his gaze from their own. "I understand your anger. Believe me, I understand it."

"Levi …" Issy started, but a pointed glare shut her mouth.

"I let them come to my office and ask the questions that they needed to," he swallowed thickly, momentarily reliving those questions. "They stated that they'd had an anonymous phone call the previous evening explaining that I had been having a sexual relationship with a minor." He fought past the lump in his throat and continued. "I've been asked to not go to work for the week whilst they investigate and go through my internet history and phone records and things like that."

"They can't without just cause!" Hange snapped.

"Why do you think they took my things?" Levi glared at her. "I have nothing to hide, Hange. They can search all they like but they won't find anything." He rubbed his temples with a groan. "I –I just want this over with. Erwin said that he spoke with them sometime beforehand and that it was established that as a long as nothing was found, this wouldn't go on my record."

"That's a concern?" Issy frowned, worrying her lip.

"If it goes on his record he won't ever be allowed to teach," Farlan stated sombrely.

A heavy silence hung in the air.

It was only broken by the heavy banging on the front door.

"Shit! Is that them?!" Issy jumped to her feet. Levi could only watch his heart in his throat. A hand on his shoulder forced him back into his seat. He watched as Mike, closely followed by Farlan walked out into the hall to answer the door. His panicked heart was thumping heavily in his ears. What had they found? Could it really be bad enough that they were coming to arrest him here and now?

The voices were quiet enough that Levi couldn't distinguish their conversation.

Footsteps came down the hall and he nearly blacked out.

To see Eren step through the doorway was like a sign from God.

The tall brat barely paid heed to anyone else as he marched over to Levi, dropped down to his knees and enveloped the older man into his arms. He cupped Levi's face in his hands and pressed urgent kisses to his cheeks and lips before pressing their foreheads together, his hands gripping the fabric of Levi's shirt.

"I'm so sorry!" he said, breathless from no doubt running up the stairs to their floor. "I heard Dad talking on the phone to the police asking if there had been any updates on what he'd reported or some bollocks!"

"How did you know it was about me?" Levi asked, frowning at the small portion of Eren's face. "It could have been anyone."

"I confronted him about it but he didn't budge. Refused to say," Eren sat back on his haunches, Levi's hands gripped in his hands. He was warm and secure, a ready anchor, a life-line. "It was only when Issy messaged me, asking if I knew what had happened. Then I confronted my dad again. He admitted he was the one who'd reported you for this bullshit."

Levi felt his stomach turn cold.

"And?" he asked.

"And we had a huge argument. I –I may have punched him."

"You punched your dad?!" Levi felt his jaw drop. "Eren, he'll report you for assault!"

"Let him," Eren challenged. "You're worth it."

Levi closed his eyes, wishing to ever be worthy of those sentimental words. Yet, he didn't feel like it. Those thoughts must have been emblazoned on his forehead because Eren wasted no time in squeezing his hands tightly.

"You ARE worth it to me, Levi," he repeated. "I called the police on my way over here. They said it was a preliminary investigation and that they couldn't give me any details. I told them that my dad had falsely accused you. I don't know whether they believed me or not, so I said I'd go down there first thing in the morning and prove it."

Everything being said to him was making him feel sick.

He bowed his head, his composure lost and his body quaking.

"Eren … You –You shouldn't have come."

Eren sat back as though he'd been slapped. "Don't you want me here?"

"Of course I do. I just don't want you to lose family over me."

"For fucks sake, Levi, if I wanted family like that I'd be there right now and not here with you."

"He's still your dad."

"Then he needs to start acting like it."

"Eren," Isabel broke the argument with a placating hand on his shoulder. It was only then that Levi remembered all the other people in the room, watching this emotional exchange with rapt interest. It was like they were soaking the scene up. "Let's calm down okay? It's been a rough day. We're all trying to piece this together."

Levi suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. He stood up abruptly from his armchair and swayed on his feet. "I need to get out of here," he grunted, heading for the hallway and down to his bedroom.

Isabel ushered Eren after him. "See if he's okay," she said.

He nodded and hurried after the teacher. This was all new to him as he hadn't been to Levi's place before and barely had time to drink it all in before reaching the bedroom. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, hunched over with his head in his hands. He wasn't crying as far as Eren could see as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

"Hey," he said, trying to keep his voice level. He edged into the room and settled on the bed, making sure not to touch the older man. "I know this must be difficult for you," he murmured after a few moments silence. "I didn't mean to just barge in here. I didn't know your friends would be here."

"Neither did I."

Eren's mouth twitched. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay since you didn't reply to my messages."

"Didn't want to talk about it."

"I get that." Eren hesitated before inching over and placing a hand over Levi's. He flinched but didn't pull away. "I'm here if you need me okay?"

"I just need to be somewhere quiet for a little while."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Eren asked, gently stroking his hand.

Levi glanced down at the young man's hand. Suddenly, being alone seemed like a horrible idea. "Would you stay with me?" he finally murmured, not daring to look up.

"Of course I will."

~0~

 **8:51PM**

.

.

An hour's nap did him a world of good. As Eren used the bathroom, Levi tidied his hair up and tried to rub some life back into his limbs. His brain was still foggy from the events of the day and the fact that Eren had travelled over an hour on the train just to come and make sure he was okay.

The thought made him feel lighter.

The glowing numbers of his alarm clock glared back at him through the soft light from his bedside lamp. His stomach gave an irritable growl. He hadn't eaten all day and as a result all his previously numbed emotions gave back with a savage vengeance.

Eren came back in from the bathroom and stretched his arms. "Dear God I hope you're hungry. I skipped dinner coming to see you, you know."

Levi gave a wry smile. "I appreciate it."

Bending down, Eren pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "You should go and get food, I need to message Mika. She's a bit panicked I upped and left home … again."

"I'm a bad influence on you, clearly," Levi remarked drily.

"Naturally."

Whilst Eren dialled his sister's number, Levi opted to wonder back down the hall to the living room. True to form, his friends were still sitting there talking quietly amongst themselves with the TV on quietly in the background. All eyes turned to him as he stepped through the doorway.

Isabel spoke first. "How're you feeling?" she asked, standing up and coming over to him, hesitating before inching in for a hug. He didn't resist her, even leaning his chin on her shoulder for a moment before leaning away.

"Not great. Not bad, either, I suppose."

She gave a sympathetic smile and rubbed his arms. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "We can order some food?"

"Yeah food sound's good."

"Thank you! We're starving!" Hange whined, pouting moronically. "I'm glad you're feeling better, though, Levi. What's happened is just awful! I want to see this Doctor prick for myself and give him a piece of my mind!"

Levi shot her a look but didn't respond.

"So what does everybody want?" Farlan asked a little too cheerfully considering the gravity of the situation. "Chinese? Indian? Pizza?"

"We have Chinese all the time!" Isabel whined. "Let's just get pizza and a bunch of sides."

Whilst they bickered and debated on what side's to order from the JUSTEAT app, the sound of footsteps came down the hallway. Eren emerged into the doorway and froze as he ended the call to Mikasa. Levi frowned over his shoulder at the younger man and then turned, following his gaze.

"Miss Zoe?!" Eren exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"

All eyes turned to Hange as her face split into a huge, manic grin. "Oh my GOD! Levi?! THIS is your Eren?!"

"What the fuck is going on?" Isabel hissed, her eyes darting from one person to the other.

Levi was just as confused. "Do you two know each other?" It was a moot question, as their reactions to one another was speaking volumes. Especially in Hange's case as she leapt to her feet and slung an arm around Eren's neck.

"You little git! I always had my suspicions but I could never confirm it!" She gave Eren a noogie and he tried to squirm away, batting her offending hands off as much as possible.

Finally wrestling out of her grip, Eren backed away towards Levi's armchair and rubbed the back of his neck, obviously embarrassed. "You remember I said my sports medicine teacher was sort of … hyper and insane?"

Levi couldn't believe his ears. "Yes?" he said slowly.

"Well …" He gave an awkward nod towards Hange.

"No."

"Yeah."

"…No."

"Yes."

"For fucks sake!"

"So you two have known each other all this time and not ONCE did it click that you both knew Levi?" Issy gaped up at them, her eyes comically wide.

"I guess not."

Hange cackled, "This is too perfect!"

Levi dropped his head into his hands and groaned. "I knew this was too good to be true."

Eren's eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh shit."

"What?" Levi asked, peering up as the younger man slumped down at the foot of his chair.

"I've just realised –all those personal things you told me about Hange …" he trailed off, letting the information sink in.

Levi smirked and shook his head, "You won't ever look at her the same way again."

Eren glanced over at Hange's insane grin directed his way and winced. "I'm not exactly sure whether that's a good or bad thing."

Plonking herself down on Eren's other side, Hange threw an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. "Oh, Eren, there's no escaping me now. I'm going to make your life HELL!"

Glancing over at Levi leaning back in the armchair with an amused look on his face, Eren chewed on his lip trying to suppress a groan. The older man shrugged and shook his head. "What have I gotten myself into?" he bemoaned, much to everyone else's amusement.

"Okay!" Issy clapped her hands for attention. "Now can we PLEASE order food?"

.

.

 **10:03PM**

.

The doorbell rang out, signalling the arrival of all the food. As soon as they'd paid and hauled all the containers into the living room, they descended upon the food like starved wolves. Levi stayed nestled in his chair, choosing to have a napkin and a plate rather than stuffing food in with greasy fingers. Eren sat against his armchair, nestling against Levi's legs. It was oddly comfortable considering that the young man had never met any of his friends face-to-face before.

There was still the unanswered questions clearly plaguing everyone's mind. Whenever the conversation was turned away from them for a moment, Eren reached behind himself and stroked Levi's ankle through his pyjama bottoms. As he reached out for another slice of pizza, Isabel turned her bright smile towards him.

"So, Eren, how long do you think you'll stay here?"

Eren froze mid-bite before shrugging. "I don't really know," he admitted. "It was spur of the moment, coming up here."

"Well Levi doesn't have work for a whole week," Hange grinned. "Maybe you should stay. Keep him company."

Eren blushed a little and ducked his head. "Well, I do still have work to do for Uni as you know, MISS Zoe."

Hange let out a cackle, "Oh Eren! Let's not be coy," she winked. "You're one of my top students, I know you could be in a coma and still pass with flying colours!"

"Somehow I doubt that, but I appreciate the lie."

"Don't do that, kid. She'll torment you as soon as you think you're in the clear," Levi warned from where he reclined, desperately trying to follow the conversation to keep his mind away from the fact that he had in fact no job for the next week.

A minor set-back. He'd need to call Erwin at some point tomorrow and see where things stood.

Eren glanced over his shoulder and threw a bright grin up at Levi.

It should not have been that easy to fall even harder for the kid.

Out of sight of the others, Levi snaked his hand forwards and gently tweaked the thick, brown hair. If Eren noticed, he didn't turned back around. The conversation floated around his head, from the latest TV shows, the weather, plans for the summer holidays and when Issy and Farlan planned on tying the knot. All too soon, it veered back towards Levi's own issues and he didn't want the attention.

"You don't think Erwin's going to fire you, do you?" Hange asked with a frown. For the first time all evening her face was serious. It was unnerving how stern she looked in that moment.

"I don't know what to think about that without getting more information from the police," Levi sighed wearily. "I can only hope it turns in my favour."

"Of course it will," Farlan said confidently. "Like you said, you've got nothing to hide."

"It just makes me anxious, that's all."

"I'll call the police first thing in the morning," Eren stated, craning his head back. "They can't not listen to me."

Levi gave a sympathetic look. "I appreciate it, brat, but they'll probably just think you're another side-piece to my collection of underage fuck-boys."

"Ew, Levi, must we?" Issy grimaced, wrinkling her nose.

"Sorry."

Eren rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to the grumpy-git, Issy. He's always this sour."

The other's snickered a little. "So, Eren, how many nicknames do you two have for one another?" Farlan teased with a wicked grin. He took a swig from his beer bottle.

"Only like … two or three," Eren admitted.

"Oh?" Isabel grinned, leaning forward on her crossed legs. "Tell us more."

"No, Eren, _don't_ tell them more," Levi warned.

Eren pressed his lips into a tight line, miming zipping them shut and throwing the key away. Isabel pouted at them both. "Levi, you're such a sour-puss!"

The room was interrupted by a loud yawn from Mike, who had been as quiet as Levi claimed he'd be up until that point. It was strange seeing the man married to his Sports Medicine teacher. He was not what Eren would have pictured at all. Hange sighed with a grin, "I guess that's our cue to get someone home to bed. We need to make sure the pups are all watered and fed anyways."

Reluctantly standing up and stretching their aching muscles, everyone said their goodbyes and walked Hange and Mike out to the front door. Isabel and Farlan decided to go not long after, and saying they'd pop in tomorrow afternoon as soon as they'd both finished work. Levi nodded his thanks, giving as much of a smile as he could muster and watched as Eren took control and saw both his friends out.

Only when the sound of the lock sliding into place, did Levi feel the tension drain out of his body. Dropping his head against the back of the chair he let out a soft sigh. "This has been the longest day of my life."

Eren came back into the lounge, his thumbs hooked in his jeans pockets. "I know it's not really that late but maybe we should go to bed?" he suggested, tilting his head towards the end of the hall. "You look as though you've not slept for about a thousand years."

Levi gave a wry grin. "You know I don't sleep, kid."

"Well then let me just hold you," Eren coaxed. "You're welcome to do whatever you fancy once I'm asleep."

Peering up at the brunette, Levi succumbed instantly to the hesitant pleading in Eren's eyes. He had no energy to fight it, not after the draining day he'd had. Maybe, just maybe, if he fell asleep he could wake up tomorrow morning and everything would be fine. He'd go to work like normal and that would be great. He'd see Erwin and actually be glad to see those bushy eyebrows.

A gentle tug on his hand drew him back to the present, and Eren's bright eyes looking down at him with concern. "Come on," he coaxed softly.

Levi obliged.

His bedroom was nothing spectacular yet somehow with Eren in it, it seemed better, brighter, and more wholesome. Somewhere he actually wanted to be. He felt almost weightless as he was guided over towards the bed and seated gently on the edge of the bed. The mattress sank under his weight. Eren flipped the light switch and turned the lamp on, illuminating the room in a soft, hazy glow. It was instantly soothing to Levi. He hadn't even realised he'd had a migraine budding up inside his head until that moment. Eren's hands on his shoulders was an instant relief for his tight muscles.

Eren gently massaged Levi's shoulders, coming up to kneel on the bed behind him. He leaned down and pressed a soft, ghosting kiss to his throat, letting his lips linger against the shell of Levi's ear. Turning his head, he caught the older man's mouth in his own and slowly kissed him, the burn sending shock-waves through his chest. Levi turned into the kiss, his hands sliding up Eren's sides and stroking the hoodie off his shoulders. Together they settled back against the pillows, aligning their bodies and slotting together to have easier access to one another.

Eren let his jeans be pried off, feeling his bulge grow hot and urgent as he tenderly embraced Levi. He was frustrated at being calm in that moment, however the last thing they needed was to get hot and heavy and do something they regretted.

Cupping the older man's face in his hands Eren leaned up, breaking the kiss. "Levi …" he breathed. "My Levi …"

He was in a daze. It felt wonderful. He had Eren's warm weight on top of him, nestled between his legs, their arms wrapped around one another. They kissed deeply and slowly; it was like being slowly set on fire and enjoying the burn. Despite the twists of fate that had led him to that moment, having Eren there in his bed, his fingers buried in that soft, brunette hair –well, it was definitely worth it. When Eren broke the kiss, gently nuzzling along his jaw and being the most intimate either of them had been … It made something inside him skip.

He touched the smooth underside of Eren's jaw.

"Levi?"

"Mmm?" he cracked his eyelids open to look up at the young man leaning above him. "What's up?"

Eren smoothed a stray lock of black hair from his lover's grey eyes. "I love you."

Levi was stunned. The world seemed motionless in that moment as he saw the untainted, raw emotion in his boyfriend's eyes. It had been a roller-coaster over the last few weeks just to reach this point. All the anguish and fear that had hounded him, snapping at his heels in the dead of night seemed utterly ridiculous now because it was just so _easy_.

Tightening his arms around Eren he said, "Eren, I love you too." He leaned up and pressed a kiss to the man's throat. "Dear God, I love you too. So, so much."

His kisses grew more desperate each time the words reverberated through his skull.

He loved Eren.

He. Loved. Eren.

It shouldn't have felt so good to say it, to hear it, to feel it.

None of it should be happening not even to him, but it was. He was loved, so, unconditionally loved and he wanted to kick himself for ever dreaming of denying either of them this one simple pleasure. He realised, as their hands roamed freely over naked skin that Eren was the best thing that had ever happened to him and this feeling –being loved –he never wanted to let that go. It had always terrified him before to let someone get that close to him but not now.

Now it was easy –because of Eren.

* * *

 **A/N: SO THEY SAID THE BIG 'L' TO ONE ANOTHER! I hope you guys liked this chapter! Finally some hardcore progress for our boys. Let me know what you think! x**


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N: So here's a nice, long, meaty update for you guys! Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

 **WARNING: EXPLICIT SCENES IN THIS CHAPTER OF A SEXUAL NATURE!**

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

 **Tuesday AM**

.

.

Eren started awake and frowned. His head felt like it weighed a ton and his brain felt fluffy. He rubbed his puffy face and tried to take stock of his surroundings. ' _Am I in Levi's room?_ ' he thought sluggishly, trailing his eyes over the uncluttered floor and desk. ' _Phew! Good … That's good_.'

For a moment his heart had lurched, fearing last night had been a nightmare and he'd wake up in his own bed. Drawing in a deep breath through his nose, he rolled over onto his other side and burrowed closer to the warmth of Levi's sleeping body. It was comfortably dark in the bedroom, probably no more than 3AM which meant there was no reason for him to be awake.

Half an hour later he didn't feel tired enough to go back to sleep.

He tried to calm his brain as he watched the older man sleeping peacefully on his back. His chest rose up and down slowly, his face as motionless as ever. Eren had the urge to touch him and make sure he was real; his sleepy brain didn't register his hand moving of its own free will over Levi's and squeezing softly.

"Levi?" he whispered. "Levi are you asleep?"

A pause. "I was."

Eren's heart lurched. "I can't sleep."

"… I noticed."

With a deep sigh, Levi turned his head lazily to face Eren, but didn't open his eyes. "What's on your mind, Eren?" he murmured sleepily.

"Nothing …" Eren hummed. "Just woke up and couldn't sleep …"

Levi hummed softly to himself before shifting against his pillow. "Come here," he murmured, tugging limply at Eren's t-shirt, dragging him closer. The younger man shifted, allowing himself to be guided to lie against Levi's chest. Levi looped his arms loosely around Eren's shoulders and tilted his head so that his cheek rested on top of Eren's head.

It was a rare moment of vulnerability.

Eren couldn't help but let contentment wash through his chest. It was such a relief. He adjusted himself against Levi's body, the low thumping of his heart echoing dully in Eren's ear, as he closed his eyes. It was a tender moment that resonated with everything that had happened between them in the last month. Eren was glad that he had been patient enough to stick around and find out the more loving parts of Levi that were slowly but surely rising to the surface.

.

.

A few hours later Levi awoke properly after having one of the longest night's sleep he'd had in a while. It was no wonder considering the events of the previous day; he'd need plenty of sleep to fully process it. However, he could do nothing but sit and wait, as daunting as that thought was. It left him feeling jittery. Turning his head to the side, he frowned at the drawn blinds. He could just about make out some faint light coming through the lowest slat. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was nearly 6AM.

Eren was slumped comfortably against his chest, his slow breaths ghosting over Levi's skin. It was almost too comfortable to move, but Levi was already starting to feel restless. Everything was churning around in his mind and he knew he'd only fidget to the point that Eren would lose sleep and be grouchy for the rest of the day. He'd feel eternally selfish for doing something so heinous. So, instead, he unwound the younger man from about his person and stealthily slid out from underneath him.

The air outside the bed was cool and unforgiving.

Levi hurried to the bathroom and quickly changed into his jogging attire, only pausing for a few minutes to brush his teeth before swiping up his iPod on the way out of the front door. He needed to get out and just be by himself to fully process everything. Jogging would help, movement always helped.

On the pavement outside he adjusted the ear-buds in place and turned the volume up to drown out the early-morning people commuting to work. ' _I was one of them just a few weeks ago,_ ' he thought bitterly as he eyed people sluggishly bowing their heads over cups of coffee on their way to the bus stop down the road. With a sigh, he sheathed his iPod and did some stretches, making sure his muscles were loosened up before starting on his usual route towards the park.

It would take him on the usual forty-five minute route through the park, down the back road of the high street and past the local primary school before winding back around to his flat.

He set-off, enjoying the feeling of his legs pounding heavily against the uneven pavements.

As he ran he didn't do any over-thinking; he simply processed the information as basic facts;

He was being investigated by the police for having a relationship with a minor.

His laptop had been taken and he had handed over the accounts for his phone and online history.

He had nothing to hide.

He hadn't been with anyone for five years, before Eren.

Eren's father was most likely behind the anonymous call.

As soon as he was cleared, he was going to pay Grisha a visit.

By the time he'd completely processed that list, he'd made it through the park and was already half-way up the high-streets back road. He was almost home. Drawing in a deep breath he raked his damp hair out of his eyes. He pushed himself the last leg home, stopping to take a breather. He was parched, having forgotten his damned water bottle on the kitchen counter. Glancing at his watch he absently noted it was just gone 8AM.

He stretched his muscles in the shelter of the building's staircase before heading up.

.

.

Eren was still sound asleep as he tiptoed into his flat. That was a strange thing in itself; he'd never had to watch himself and what he did in his own house. He toed his running shoes off at the door and went into the bathroom, peeling his sweaty clothes off his body and hopping into the bath for a quick shower to feel a little better and calm his thrumming body down. Once washed, towelled off and dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was still damp after he'd ran a towel over it and brushed his teeth again.

The clock flashed 9:13AM as he walked into the kitchen and went about his automatic routine of making a mug of black coffee. It was only as the kettle boiled that he remembered that Eren was still asleep in bed. Taking a deep sip of his coffee, he popped some bread into the toaster, grimacing as the crumbs collected on the counter and metal rim, before making a cup of tea and grabbing the butter and jam from the fridge.

Eren didn't stir when he nudged the bedroom door open.

Levi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes in an adoring manner as he settled the tray of food on the bedside table. Settling on the edge of his bed, he placed a hand on Eren's shoulder and gently shook him. Eren grumbled and batted the offending hand away. Levi smirked, "Oi brat, it's time to wake up."

"No … Tired …"

That time, Levi did roll his eyes. "If you don't wake-up, you won't get to eat."

Like a switch, Eren's eyes flew open. "Food?" he asked, turning his head to the side to look up at the older man.

"Yes," Levi cocked an eyebrow. "It's nothing fancy," he stated as he dragged the tray onto Eren's lap once he'd sat up. "I just thought you wouldn't be fully functional as soon as you'd wake up."

Eren gave a lopsided smile as he accepted the mug of tea. "You're sweet." He took a sip and hummed in appreciation. "When did you get up?"

"About six-ish."

"Oof, that's early!"

"For you."

Eren pulled a face, earning him a playful pat on the thigh. He ate the toast and in between bites, sipped at the piping hot tea. Once he was finished he settled the tray down on the floor beside the bed before running a hand over Levi's abdomen as he reclined on the plush pillows. "How're you feeling?" he asked, his fingers skimming the sliver of pearly skin peeking out from the hem of the shirt.

"Okay," Levi shrugged. "Nothing much I can do right now."

"What if something … happens?"

Levi watched the uncertainty flash over the younger man's face. "I have nothing to hide, Eren," he stated solemnly.

"I believe you," he said. "It's more that … what if they make something out of nothing? Then what will you do?"

Levi looked away in that moment, his chest tightening. It was a fear, but he'd pushed it to the back of his mind. "I don't know."

A heavy silence settled over them and Eren mentally kicked himself for, yet again, ruining a light-hearted moment. Shifting up on the pillows, he turned Levi to face him and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. It was soft and lingering, making Levi's eyelids flutter at the warmth that bloomed inside his chest.

"Sorry," he murmured, leaning his forehead against Levi's.

"Don't be."

Pecking a kiss to Eren's cheek, Levi stood up and brushed a few stray crumbs from his jeans. He walked over to the chest-of-drawers and pulled out some fresh socks. "Do you plan on getting up any time soon?" he asked.

"What're we going to do?"

Levi paused for a moment before turning bright grey eyes to Eren. "How about we finally have that Harry Potter movie marathon?"

Eren sat up in bed, "Really? Did you finish the last book at last?"

"I may have."

"And you didn't tell me!?"

Levi smirked and shook his head at the excitable brat in his bed. "Get dressed and we can go and rent the movies."

Eren wrinkled his nose. "Why rent them? Trust me, you may as well buy the box set otherwise you'll miss out."

Levi leaned back against the bedroom door, arms folded against his chest as he watched Eren clamber out of bed and scurry around for his discarded clothes. He clawed them on awkwardly, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face. His antics always brought a smile to Levi's lips. Once he was ready, he ruffled his hair down into a better style before hurrying into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Whilst he did that, Levi grabbed a jumper and made his way towards the door to drag on his coat and his shoes.

Eren joined him in a cloud of mint toothpaste and fresh deodorant. It was such a juvenile aroma but it had Levi's insides twisting. He waited patiently for Eren to get his coat and put his shoes on before ushering the brat outside. He'd rather get in and out as fast as possible; if he wasn't going to be at the school all week then he didn't want to have to deal with snotty children making a nuisance of themselves up and down the high street.

.

.

 **Tuesday PM**

.

Eren rolled the lollipop around his mouth as he idly eyed the numerous DVD's stretching up past even his own head. Levi had said he'd had a few errands to run and handed Eren some money for food for later on –actual food, he'd stated, not just snacks and sweets –and had left Eren to his own devices. Not that he minded. He'd already grabbed the Harry Potter box-set from a discount shop and was now eyeing up the rest of the options. Did he get ' _Fantastic Beasts_ ' too? Or did he go for something completely different?

It was too open-ended and exciting to open someone else's mind to what they'd been missing. He felt as though he had too many options.

Cracking the sweet in his mouth, he sucked on the sugar shards as he grabbed a few more DVD's off the shelf and went over to pay for them.

Once everything was bagged up and handed to him, Eren left the shop and casually strolled down the high street back in the direction of Levi's flat. It wasn't a very long walk and he wasn't in any rush. It was the first proper warm day of the month and he felt like enjoying the vague warmth a little more. Walking around the corner of the block of flats, Eren caught a glimpse of the motorbike parked in the building's car-park around the back. It was covered by a black tarp, but he recognised the bulky shape of it.

He hovered for a moment, before taking the stairs two at a time to the second level.

Stopping outside of Levi's door, he dug around in his back pocket for the spare key he'd been given. Slotting it into the door he jiggled the knob until it swung open. The flat was bright and airy, just as it always had been. The quiet was the same, too. Levi came out of the front room and stopped dead when he saw Eren.

"Did you get the food?" he asked nonchalantly.

Eren raised the bag up in confirmation. "And nibbles, too."

"And the movies?"

"Harry Potter box-set and two mystery DVD's."

Levi furrowed his brows, "Why is it that I don't like the sound of that?"

Eren smirked as he leaned down to press a chaste kiss to Levi's cheek. "You'll love them I promise."

Levi pulled a face at the unexpected kiss and forced himself not to wipe his cheek as he watched Eren unload the cacophony of sugar onto his kitchen counter. He quirked an eyebrow up at the younger man. "I thought you said you bought proper food?"

"I did!"

"What?"

Eren dug into the back and pulled out a frozen pizza with the biggest grin on his face. "Dinner, of course."

The look on Levi's face would have been enough to put Grisha in his place. Eren sucked his lips in and feigned an innocent expression. Levi walked across the kitchen and plucked the frozen pizza from Eren's hand and turned it around in his hands, examining the frosted surface. He then raised it and smacked Eren across the head with it, earning him a cry of pain.

"Ow! Levi what was that for?"

"You're such a brat."

Eren rubbed at the sore spot on his head. Levi watched him and fought to keep a straight face as he slotted the pizza into the freezer. He busied himself putting the rest of the things away whilst Eren scowled down at him. It took all of Levi's strength not to burst out laughing.

"You're a git, you know that?" Eren pouted.

Levi rolled his eyes. "So you've mentioned. Numerous times." He quirked an eyebrow at the taller man. "Now grab some drinks and come into the living room."

Eren scoffed at Levi's bossiness but did as he was told, grabbing some tall glasses from the cupboard and pouring some Pepsi into them. He grabbed the baggie of popcorn and poured it into a large plastic bowl, wincing as a few rolled off onto the counter. He popped them in his mouth and crunched them as he juggled everything on a tray and edged his way out of the kitchen and into the living room.

He nearly dropped the tray.

Eren jolted out of his shock and manoeuvred into the fort whilst clutching the tray in his hands.

Inside the blanket fort was somehow better than the outside; all the padding made out of pillows and cushions and sofa seats was all covered with a thick, black throw blanket. It was so soft against him as he stretched out inside, turning around so that he could see the fairy lights strung up across the top. Levi positioned the tray to one side so that the drinks didn't spill. Eren reclined on his back and folded his hands under his head. "This is just … This is incredible!" he gushed, a grin spreading across his face. "I can't believe you did this!"

Levi smirked at the brat's appreciation and cast a look around at his accomplishment. "Well I remember you saying something about building forts with your sister and Armin whilst watching movies," he shrugged. "I figured I was missing out."

"Oh, so this is a total gift for you?" Eren grinned.

"Maybe."

"Still awesome," Eren conceded.

"Glad you approve."

"So what movie are we going to watch first?"

"Harry Potter of course," Levi stated with a frown. "Like there was any other plan in mind!"

Eren beamed and rummaged around for the DVD's. "I am so buzzed right now!" he gushed as he popped the DVD out and inserted it into the DVD player. Levi grabbed the remote and together they reclined back on the plush cushions before the MENU screen came up. As the introductory music started up, Levi looked down at Eren as he sprawled out the length of their fort, his toes poking out of the end with the bowl of popcorn resting on his stomach. He looked so care-free and almost childlike in his innocent expression. It made Levi feel weightless as he reclined and tore his eyes away from his lover, to look at the opening scene of the ' _Philosopher's Stone'_.

.

.

 **Wednesday AM**

.

In the early hours of the morning Levi jolted awake to see the menu screen of the _'Prisoner of Azkaban_ ' playing on repeat. The world was quiet and grey outside, everything was hushed and felt like the planet was muffled with cotton wool. It was almost peaceful. Reaching blindly for the remote, Levi turned the TV off, watching as the after-image faded into blackness. Stretched out beside him was Eren's sleeping form, curled in slightly. A shiver ran over his bare arms. Rubbing them, Levi eased himself back down onto the padded floor of their fort.

' _We should really go to bed_ ,' he thought sluggishly as he stared at Eren's sleeping face. He was so handsome. Reaching out he gently traced his fingertips over the cheekbones, the soft skin and that strong nose –just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

"Eren?" he whispered. "Eren, we need to go to bed."

"Hmmmmm," was the only response he got.

Frowning, Levi gently shoved him. "Get up you little shit!" he hissed.

"Mmmmeh!" Eren grunted, batting Levi's hand away.

Levi glowered down at the younger man. He had a little sliver of drool on his chin. He was adorably rumpled and Levi wasn't having any of it. Grinding his teeth together, he sat up and shoved Eren hard. The brat started awake, lurching up, his wild green eyes darting around, desperate to focus on something. Levi placed a hand on his chest and leaned over him, "Hey it's okay kid. You're alright."

"Huh? What?" Eren frowned and rubbed his face hard. "Eurgh … must've had a nightmare."

Levi rubbed his back soothing. "Maybe," he conceded, feeling satisfied at Eren's confused expression. "Let's head to bed, eh?"

"Yeah …" Eren grunted, scrubbing his face again. "Sure … Sounds good."

Crawling out of the blanket fort, Levi stretched his cramped muscles and groaned a little. Eren followed not long after, his hair looking as though he'd been electrocuted. He stumbled sluggishly from side-to-side, bumping into Levi as he headed for the door. Levi managed to shift their awkward bodies toward the bedroom. Eren had barely made it over the threshold before he'd dropped face-down onto the bed. Levi crossed his arms and lounged on the doorframe, eyeing the brat sprawled out on his bed. With much effort, he managed to move Eren over so that he had enough room to climb in under his sheets.

He didn't feel like sleeping but he didn't want to move either.

In a bid to get comfortable, Eren clawed his body into a more comfortable position, nestling his head in the crook of Levi's arm and chest. The older man looped an arm around the brat and held him close.

.

.

 **Wednesday PM**

.

The following evening they were back in the blanket fort. Levi was sorting through his take-away menus in the kitchen and Eren was busy texting Mikasa about what had happened with Levi and the investigation.

.

(16:08) **_I still don't understand. If they've not found anything why don't they just say so?_**

(16:10) _Apparently there are all sorts of enquiries they need to make._

(16:11) _I've already given them a statement, but it doesn't seem to have helped_.

(16:16) **_Hmmm._**

(16:17) **_Maybe speak to Armin? He knows a lot about legal stuff._**

(16:19) _Idk Mika. This whole thing makes me so anxious I don't know how Levi would feel if I spread it about why he got suspended._

(16:22) **_Eren, it's a false allegation. There's no merit to it. Guaranteed there's nothing to find._**

(16:23) _So why not just say that?_

(16:24) _Why drag it out?_

(16:29) **_Idk Eren._**

(16:30) **_Hey, why not talk to the head of the school? Maybe the police can't tell you shit, but I'm sure they'd tell the school, right?_**

(16:34) _That's a good point. They are friends._

(16:35) **_See?! This is why you keep me around._**

(16:37) _Sure it is. You're just trying to ruin my fun in the fort._

(16:39) **_Listen bro, unless you've fucked in the fort, you're not having FUN in the fort._**

(16:42) _DO NOT BESMIRCH THE NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR HARRY POTTER!_

(16:46) **_Whoa easy boy! No need to get biblical on me._**

(16:49) _Gosh Mika, that was medieval at BEST, not biblical._

 _._

Eren was too busy spamming his sister to notice Levi until a sheaf of glossy menus rained down on his face. Spluttering he shoved them aside to glare up at the older man. "You have a nasty habit of sneaking up on me," he groused.

"All the better to keep you on your toes," Levi intoned, shifting so sit down beside Eren. "So who're you texting that's so important?"

"Just updating Mika on what's been going on."

"Oh," Levi said. "How does she feel about it?"

"She wants to kick my dad in the dick, if it makes you feel better?"

"Eh, I sort of called dibs on that one."

Eren grinned and put his phone away after shooting a quick ' _ttyl'_ to Mikasa. "So are we continuing to watch Harry Potter or are we going to change it up for a bit?"

Levi shrugged. "Might as well finish the series, no? We have time and we're half-way through."

"Could sound a little more enthusiastic."

Levi shot him a deadpan look. "If you give me any more lip, you won't get a say in dinner tonight."

Eren's eyes darted down to Levi's mouth. He sucked on his bottom lip and bit down hard. "You're an awful tease," he pouted.

"We all have our strengths."

Eren reached for the DVD cases piled neatly in front of the TV stand and hesitated as he popped the case open. Levi had been more than accommodating for Eren's wants, needs and desires and Eren had hardly given much in return. Not to the same capacity at least. He twitched in thought, his eyes drifting to the remote on the unit. Grabbing it, he turned and presented the control to Levi. "Find a movie for us to watch. Your turn to pick."

Levi glanced down at the remote and then back up at Eren. "I'm more than happy to watch Harry Potter with you."

"I know, I know," Eren said. "However, that was something I got you into. This time, I want _you_ to show _me_ something. Okay?"

Levi cocked an eyebrow but took the remote without any argument. He flicked through the movie channels, his brow furrowing in concentration as he tried to find something of interest.

In the end, he settled for 'ALIEN' since the only other option was 'TWILIGHT'.

The one thing Levi noticed within the first twenty minutes of the movie, was that Eren was a jumper; despite his ticks and quirks, he jumped whenever something remotely loud happened. He almost had a heart attack when the intercom buzzed, announcing the arrival of their pizza. Levi had paused the TV, gently nudged Eren's shoulder, and left the fort to pay for their pizza. He returned with pizza and drinks, settled down and un-paused the TV to immerse in the darkening atmosphere of the movie.

The movie was close to the end and Eren was practically plastered to Levi's side. He was a coward that much was clear. At least, of giant creepy aliens with black dildo's for their heads.

"You okay?" Levi asked, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Is it nearly over?" came the hushed reply.

"Soon."

"When?"

"Soon. Shh!"

Eren huffed, dropping his head onto Levi's shoulder. He didn't want to watch anymore violence. He idly thought on how much director's got away with in the 80's and 90's of film-making. Nowadays there was too much controversy and desperation to be PC to every living, breathing, existing thing on the sodding planet. Still, Levi liked the movie. He could hold out until it ended.

Finally, the credits rolled up.

Levi turned the volume down and flicked the channel over to the news. "So what did you think?" he asked, wiping his greasy fingers rather thoroughly on a napkin.

"It was horrifying," Eren stated blandly.

"It's a classic, kid."

"It's classically horrifying."

"Cute."

Eren grimaced at the word. "You could have warned me."

Levi cast an amused look at the younger man. "Are you seriously pouting because I didn't give you any prior information to a movie?"

"Yes."

"What about Harry Potter?"

"Doesn't count!" Eren erupted. "You've read the books! You have SOME idea of what's going to happen!"

"I also know that deviate greatly since screen-time is limited, what's your point?"

Eren glared like a petulant toddler. "The point is you should have warned me."

"Oh dear, did I scare you?" Levi uttered, drily. "Did poor little Eren get scared?"

Glaring harder, Eren turned slowly to face Levi. "I don't appreciate being mocked."

"Then stop being a baby. It was just a film."

Eren rolled his eyes, "Still."

"Still nothing."

"Levi -"

His words were muffled as Levi pressed his mouth to Eren's. He kissed him hungrily, forcing Eren to shift back down onto the pillows, his hands automatically running up the length of Levi's back, pulling him closer. The adrenaline morphed into arousal as Levi nudged his legs apart, his mouth pressing deep kisses along his jaw and throat.

"Wow you really like this movie!" Eren gasped.

"Shut up Eren."

Closing his eyes, Eren leaned into the greedy caresses Levi was administering on his body. It felt good to have someone paw at his clothes and tease his skin with firm, precise hands. Shivers of excitement ran through him as he helped Levi tug his shirt off over his head, and vice versa. Pressing their bare chests together was electric; it left Eren burning and desperate for more, desperate to be completely naked and wet and have Levi devour him whole.

"Levi –Ah! Levi w-wait!"

With a growl, Levi paused where he'd been running his lips and tongue over Eren's nipples. "What?" he ground out through gritted teeth.

"Do you –er –really want to do this here?"

"Why wouldn't we? Half the bed is here anyway, might as well make use of it."

Eren twisted his face into a frown. "It's just –I don't know … Isn't it childish?"

Levi sat back a little, regarding Eren properly in that moment. He was dishevelled, his lips red and swollen and his chest was heaving. "Are you nervous about this being your first time or do you not want the story of your first time to be in a blanket fort your thirty-odd-year-old boyfriend made for you?"

Eren flushed, but didn't answer.

"Because the way I see it," Levi continued, his voice softer as he reached up and cupped Eren's face with one hand. "As long as you trust me and I take care of you throughout, it'll be amazing no matter what."

"You really believe that?"

"I wouldn't still be here if I didn't."

"Even though I've never been with anyone else?"

"I told you that doesn't, nor will it ever, bother me."

Drawing in deep, shaking breaths, Eren nodded his head and eased himself back down onto the pillows. His body was tense, unable to sink properly into the pillows. Levi leaned over him, his expression one of adoration. He lowered himself so that their bare chests pressed together. Eren inhaled sharply, the electricity spiking through his heart. His hands shot up to encircle Levi and pull him tight against his body, rocking their hips together.

He was already hard.

It made his stomach flip when he felt Levi grow harder against his thigh.

Levi's breathing was rasping and shallow in his ears as he nipped and bit at Eren's exposed skin. It sent burning shivers running through his senses as he spread his legs a little wider, feeling their erections rub through their bottoms. The burn was delicious and made Eren slick with want. He dug his fingers into Levi's back, spurring him on. He leaned up and gripped the back of Levi's neck whilst he sucked the skin raw.

"Fuck you're hot," Levi grunted as he pushed the waistband of Eren's bottoms down. The young man hissed as his dick bobbed free, a spot of pre-cum smearing his stomach. "Take them off," Levi ordered, sitting back on his haunches.

Eren quickly pulled them off and tossed them aside.

Sprawled, naked, in front of Levi was enough to make his cock twitch.

Levi wasted no time in wrapping his long fingers around the base of Eren's dick and enveloped his wet head into his even wetter mouth. Eren nearly came on the spot, feeling the hot wetness of his mouth as he swallowed him down.

A strangled cry burst from his throat.

He arched up so that his hips slowly gyrated to meet with Levi's swallows. The long strokes of his tongue made Eren's insides cramp, his body thrown into spasms as orgasms raged inside him. Spots flashed behind his eyelids. He had to force Levi's head away so that he didn't come.

"G-God! S-stop! P-please!"

Levi gave him a deadpan look, before pushing Eren back down and held him in place with one hand, whilst using his free one to guide Eren's cock back into his mouth. It didn't take long before Eren's entire body was wound tight as he released into Levi's mouth. He'd wanted to stop, to pull out, but Levi was much, _much_ strong than he looked. Once his body relaxed, Levi released him with a wet 'pop', wiped his mouth on Eren's discarded shirt, and smirked down at the breathless young man.

Eren opened his eyes.

He panted heavily as the world came back into focus.

Levi loomed above him, looking too pleased with himself.

"You're –too good at that."

"Glad you approve."

Eren ran his hands up over Levi's hips, watching the cockiness melt off his lover's face, to be replaced with affection. He stroked the puckered flesh barely covered by the tattoo. "You're beautiful," he breathed, tracing the inked lines with his fingertips. A shiver ran through Levi. Eren cupped his cheek tenderly.

Levi pressed a kiss to his palm.

"How are we … er … How're we gonna do this?" Eren mumbled, averting his gaze. A hot flush crept across his cheeks.

"It might be easier if you go on top."

Eren nodded, soaking the words up. Surely going on top would hurt him more? Would he have more control? He'd never –been in that sort of position for an extended period of time before. What if he cramped? What if he couldn't get off quick enough?

Levi stretched down along the blanketed floor of their fort and rolled onto his back. He bundled a few pillows under his head and watched Eren expectantly. "Don't worry, I've got a few things prepared."

Eren frowned. "You planned for this?"

Levi smiled. "Of course. I want it to be good for you."

Warmth momentarily combated Eren's fears. "Okay," he said, feeling a little less anxious. "Just … be patient with me?"

"Okay," Levi agreed. "If it gets too much for you, just let me know and we'll stop, okay?"

Eren drew in a deep breath and nodded.

~0~

Levi's hands were firm and steady.

That was the only thing that Eren could focus on and he leaned forward on his hands and knees, careful not to push all his weight down onto Levi, as the older man stroked his buttocks before easing them apart. He'd produced a bottle of cocoa butter from underneath the coffee table along with a brand new box of condoms. Eren had swallowed hard at that, but pushed those nerves aside as best he could.

Eren was tense whenever he felt fingers tease his arse.

Kissing the older man helped relax him, let his nerves light up with pleasure. It was easier for him to let Levi tease him with his long, firm fingers. It felt weird at first, the sensation wrong –backwards somehow. It was easier to think of it as 'out-in-out' instead of the other way around.

' _Stop over-thinking you twat!_ ' his brain screamed.

He blocked everything else out except the feel of Levi's humming body beneath him, the feel of his long finger slowly easing into him, and the soft, intoxicating scent of the cocoa butter.

Running his fingers through Levi's hair, Eren arched even further into the touch, letting out a long, filthy moan as Levi pushed all the way inside. "Ungh … Didn't think it'd feel so …"

"Good?"

"Weird."

Levi chuckled, squeezing Eren's arse with his free hand. "You'll get used to it."

Eren frowned, wriggling his hips experimentally. It wasn't awful now that he'd adjusted. It did tickle against something inside that had his limbs jerking awkwardly. It felt almost good, but not enough. How could it not be enough? "A-another?" he asked, feeling hot and desperate –for what he didn't know. He just knew he needed _more_.

Levi blinked in surprise but slowly eased another cool, slick finger inside his lover.

Eren arched back, taking Levi's two fingers in as deep as he could whilst keening, before he started to rock his hips of his own volition. It was such a dirty sight, and it got Levi even harder. He was desperate to be inside Eren, but he couldn't rush the boy.

Eren's thrusts grew faster, more desperate.

"Fuck!" he groaned out, dropping his head down over Levi's. His breathing was ragged, his cheeks bright red. "It's –it's not enough!" he gasped out, his thighs quaking. "I need more," he begged, "Please, Levi I need more. I want you inside me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Eren hissed. "Please, please, please, please, ple-e-e-a-s-e!"

Levi tried to be as gentle as possible as he removed his fingers. Eren whined loudly, the sudden emptiness like a chasm between his legs. He watched, almost whimpering, as Levi coated his throbbing dick with the cocoa butter and motioned for Eren to lean up. Bracing himself on all fours, Eren pleased with his muscles to relax. Levi was completely under him now, his free hands stroking along Eren's chest in a bid to keep him calm.

"I'm going to try pushing in now okay?"

The words didn't register in Eren's brain. He nodded to show he'd heard. There was a firm pressure pushing against his entrance. It felt weird. It burned, being stretched to such a degree but –it wasn't entirely unpleasant. He grit his teeth, his fingers digging into the pillows on either side of Levi's chest. He could feel the sweat pouring out of him. He felt it when Levi's head had 'popped' in completely.

"You take control," Levi breathed huskily, his hands dropping down to Eren's hips. "Just breathe for me, kid."

For a moment, Eren didn't movie. He drew in deep breaths, as though preparing for a sprint, and focused keeping himself relaxed. Finally, when he felt brave enough, he slowly started to move his hips up and down. It was awkward and sore at first, but he thanked God for cocoa butter in that moment. It cooled and soothed in just the right places.

He jolted when Levi brushed against something inside him.

Eren let out a strangled noise as he slid all the way down his lover's cock.

"Looks like I found something good," Levi smirked.

"Do you want me to take over?" Levi asked, his hands reaching for Eren's thighs.

In one lightning move, Eren had both Levi's hands pinned on either side of his head and loomed over him with a manic look in his wild green eyes. "Don't you dare!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "Do not touch me. If you touch me right now I will die, then have to come back and kill you!"

Levi quirked an amused eyebrow before splaying his palms in surrender. "Okay, okay, I won't do anything. You just enjoy yourself and take your time. I'm in no rush."

Eren pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead.

He hadn't meant the words to come out, to be so harsh. However, he felt as though he was made of wire and had raw electricity and fire rushing through him. There was nothing else to focus on except the arousing burn of Levi's cock up his arse, and how it just got better and better as he moved. His head was spinning and clear all at the same time. He barely flinched as he picked up his thrusts, riding Levi deep and dirty and watching the older man arch into him, pushing even deeper.

"Fuck –E-Eren I'm close!" Levi grunted, digging his nails into Eren's buttocks.

It spurred the younger man on, making him go as fast and as deep as his body would allow. He felt as though his heart was buzzing, about to explode but he didn't care. He was so close to his own orgasm he couldn't stop until he'd reached it.

Stars exploded in his eyes.

His cry rang out with Levi's.

The older man clutched onto him tightly as he came inside Eren, his hips thrusting and jolting as he was rung out. Eren released all over Levi's chest, apologies dribbling out of his mouth as he collapsed forward in a sweaty, messy heap.

He clenched his buttocks and heard Levi hiss before a light punch was delivered to his shoulder. His mind protested but his body was enveloped in a euphoric daze. Tears were in his eyes; it was almost depressing coming back to reality from such a wondrous high –he'd never known such ecstasy as he had in that one moment. His eyelids suddenly grew very heavy.

"Hey now, none of that," Levi's voice sounded insanely loud. Eren groaned and pressed his face against the older man's chest. "We are not falling asleep covered in cum and sticky."

"Lev-i-i-i!"

Levi clicked his tongue. He swatted Eren's arse. "Okay fine. I'll clean us up. However, you still need to let me out of you." He sucked on the young man's earlobe, tweaking it with his teeth. "Come on, the sooner you let me out, the sooner we can clean up and get comfortable."

Eren huffed, but reluctantly obliged.

~0~

Cleaning up was the easy part.

Levi had gotten some wet-wipes just in case it'd gotten late. As much as he despised going to sleep remotely 'unclean', it would have to do. He could shower in the morning. Using a handful of wipes he cleaned himself off first and tugged on his loose bottoms. He turned to Eren, still sprawled on his front and clutching a pillow to his face. He took his time to clean up between Eren's cheeks, wincing at the rawness of his entrance and the amount of cum that had spilled out over his thighs.

It really had been a long time, Levi mused.

Once clean and refreshed, he tossed the used wipes into the bin and gently coaxed Eren's legs into his own bottoms. The room stank of sex and cocoa butter but not latex. Levi had forgotten to worry about a condom in the heat of it all. He inwardly cursed himself but decided Eren didn't need to worry about that right now. Easing back down onto the rumpled, sex-blankets, Levi eased Eren over and guided the younger man onto his chest. He flopped over like a ragdoll, his eyelids firmly closed. He curled in on Levi once they'd settled into a comfortable position.

"Mmmm Levi … You're amazing you know that?"

Levi pressed a kiss to Eren's head and hugged him tighter. "You are so wonderful, Eren," he breathed. "I'm the luckiest man in the world to have someone like you trust me enough, love me enough, to do that."

"I'd trust you with my life…" Eren yawned, curling his arms around Levi's waist and nuzzling closer. "You're the best thing that's ever –" he was interrupted by another yawn.

Levi chuckled and rested his cheek against the top of Eren's head. "Sleep tight Eren."

"Love you Grumpy."

"Love you too, kid."

* * *

 **A/N: Well ... THEY DID ITTTTTTTTTTTTT! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! OMG OMG OMG! WHAT DID WE THINK?!**


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N: So here's a nice, long, meaty update for you guys! Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

 **WARNING: EXPLICIT SCENES IN THIS CHAPTER OF A SEXUAL NATURE!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

 **Thursday AM**

 **.**

.

Eren poked his head out from under the blankets when he heard the front door close.

He groaned and rubbed at his eyes, pushing himself up higher on the pillows. Levi's footsteps echoed down the hallway before the bedroom door was nudged open. He stood in the doorway, pink-cheeked from his run but otherwise virtually immaculate. He was the only man Eren knew, other than Abercrombie and Fitch models, who could go out for a run and look unbothered by the physical exertion.

Levi unplugged his earphones and wound them up and put them on his bureau.

"You're still in bed?" he asked in a bored tone. He peeled his sports-shirt off over his head.

Eren watched him in quiet awe for a moment before stretching out across the bed. "Ye-e-e-s!" he grinned, "Can't help it. Your bed is so comfy. Smells like you."

Levi rolled his eyes. "Get up you lazy little lump. I'm going to take a shower."

Eren turned onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. "You're not fun. Is this what our life is going to be like? You being productive and telling me off when I'm not?"

"Yes!" Levi called over his shoulder as he made his way down the hall to the bathroom.

Eren pulled a face at Levi's back before kicking off the covers and hurrying after him.

Levi was just stepping into the shower, the hot spray already steaming up the mirror, as Eren eased the door into place. He watched as the water sluiced over Levi's naked body and felt his insides flip. Leaning back against the sink, he suppressed a yelp at the dull pain in his butt. He shifted against the sink, the low burn almost nice whenever he pressed on it.

He rested against the counter and toyed with the hem of his borrowed shirt. It was one of Levi's baggier shirts, but it still barely reached his waist. A tremor ran through his insides as he chanced a glance at the older man's taut arse.

"Hey Levi?"

"Mmm?"

"You know … in August is my graduation."

"Ah! … Right," Levi replied, scrubbing shampoo into his hair. Eren watched, amused, as the smaller man ruffled his wet hair, sending a shower of droplets in all directions.

"Well … I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

Levi stilled in his cleansing, and wiped shampoo from his face before staring out at Eren. "You really want that?"

"I mean you don't have to –" Eren cut himself off with a sigh. He raked the hair out of his eyes. "I just … I don't know what's going to happen in the next little while, but yes I'd really like you to be there."

The look on Levi's face was unreadable to most. However, Eren could see the mixture of amusement and adoration in his eyes. The corners of his mouth were twitching upwards a little. "Well, I'll definitely have to think about it," he stated with a teasing smirk.

Eren pulled a face of mock-insult before leaning around the glass screen of the shower, water soaking the top half off his body as he went in for a kiss.

"Eren you little shit! You're getting my shirt wet!"

"Don't care!" Eren grimed, stepping into the shower completely, pushing Levi up against the tiled wall, earning a cry from the older man. Eren laughed loudly as he pressed his face into Levi's wet neck, water cascading into their eyes. Levi was torn between amusement and dismay at a perfectly good shirt getting sopping wet. However, seeing Eren drenched and grinning down at him was enough to make him feel smitten. He leaned up, pressing his open mouth to Eren's and kissing him deeply. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach, so much so that he barely noticed the faded cool sting of the tiles on his back.

.

.

Ruffling his freshly dried hair, Levi padded into the living room where Eren was huddled up in a corner of the sofa, Levi's laptop on his lap and a look of firm concentration on his face. He stood in the doorway and watched as Eren scratched at his head and drummed a pen against his temple. "What're you working on?" he asked, delighting in Eren starting a little at the interruption.

"Oh er … just trying to study for my theory test."

"I thought you knew all the theory for driving?"

"I do," Eren hedged, his shoulders hunching up around his ears. "But since I can't do any driving, I need to know this shit like the back of my hand."

Levi smirked and rolled his eyes. "You're a moron."

"Yeah but you love me."

Levi turned from where he'd been leaving the living-room. Eren's face as they stared at one another was openly teasing and just the _faintest_ tint of uncertainty in those bright green eyes. "Yeah," he breathed, the warm sensation flooding his chest. "I really, really do."

Eren grinned even wider, tapping the pen between his teeth.

"What're you smirking at, brat?"

"Nothing. I'm just happy."

As Eren turned his attention back to his studying, Levi felt as though the sun had gotten trapped in his chest. Never before had such a statement been so simple yet … profound.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he went into the kitchen and swiped the carton off the counter. Heading through the living room to the French doors and balcony, he waved the carton. "Just going out for a cigarette."

Eren poked his head up and frowned a little before going back to his studying. After about ten more minutes he could barely focus and in that moment realised Levi was still outside. Closing the laptop, Eren swung his legs over the edge of the sofa and padded over towards the sliding doors. Levi was hunched over the balcony railing, the breeze ruffling his dark hair as he gazed out down the main road. The cigarette was sizzling, burning right down to the butt.

Levi stiffened when he felt arms wrap around him.

He relaxed a little when he realised it was only Eren.

"What's up kid?" he asked, taking one last drag from his cigarette before tossing the end away.

"Nothing," Eren shrugged. He propped his chin on top of Levi's head. "You'd been gone for a while. Something on your mind?"

"I don't like not knowing things," Levi finally sighed.

"Well that narrows it down."

"Don't, kid." He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the edge of a headache coming on. "This isn't really the time for joking."

Eren wrapped his arms a little tighter. "You're worried about what's going to happen before next week," he clarified in the silence. "You're anxious that they'll find something incriminating and what that could mean for you and your future."

"I'd never be able to teach again."

Eren felt guilt solidify in his stomach. "Dad was so worried about you ruining my life that he doesn't care if he even ruin's yours. You're established, Levi. I'm still a kid, haven't even had my first proper job yet. I can make mistakes. It sucks that you can't."

"I don't think many people make the mistake of fucking their students," the older man groused.

"No, I suppose not."

They stood in silence for a while, the warmth of the midday sun a comfortable weight on their shoulders. There was no traffic this time of day so the main road was filled with young mums and old ladies tottering from shop-to-shop. Eren chewed his bottom lip. He'd toyed with the idea of going to see Erwin, but the thought of making the situation worse had plagued him whenever he wondered over to his trainers. He needed to trust in the system.

"Hey kid?"

"Hmm?"

"Want to go for a drive?"

"Sure. Why do you want to go?"

"I don't know," Levi shrugged. "Let's just see where we end up."

As the short man unravelled himself from Eren's embrace and stepped back through into the flat, Eren hung back and cocked an eyebrow. "I don't think many murderers tell their victims how they're to be transported to their graves, you know."

Levi tossed him a deadpan look. "Excuse me for trying to add a little bit of class to the proceedings."

"Oh yes, that'd be a great self-help book!" Eren grinned. "The top one hundred and one rules and etiquette of a top-class murder! Step one; please ensure that your victim is fully aware of the travel arrangements to their gravesite so they may tell their family in advance." He doubled over, cackling. "Oh God! You'd be caught within an hour!"

"You really think I'm that incompetent?" Levi challenged.

Eren tried to catch his breath, but whenever he glanced at Levi the laughter started up again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he choked for air, tears in his eyes. "I'm sure you're a very scary murderer!"

Levi rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Are you coming for a driver or not?"

"Oh! RULE TWO; always give ample chances for the victim to DECLINE the invite to their own murder!"

"Brat! Don't make me smack you!"

"Ohh, is that my punishment or my death sentence?"

"Right that's it you little shit!"

Eren laughed louder as Levi stalked across the room. His laughter was slammed out of him though as the shorter man tackled him to the floor and straddled his hips. He'd barely gotten his bearings before he was assaulted by Levi's hands tickling him everywhere. "Levi no! Please no! THIS isn't how I want to die!"

"You're lucky I DON'T kill you, you little snot bucket!"

Eren howled with laughter.

The tickling continued.

Only when the brat was almost purple in the face, did Levi relent and let the kid draw in some much needed air.

Eren gasped, a stray tear running down the side of his temples as he finally felt himself relax, a cool breeze rushing over his face. It was soothing. He chanced a glance up at Levi who was glowering down at him, daring him to crack another joke. Eren bit his tongue, smiling innocently up at his boyfriend.

"So … Still up for that drive?"

.

.

 **Thursday PM**

.

Eren sat quietly in the passenger seat as Levi drove over the speed limit outside of town. The roads were reasonably quiet as the sky darkened overhead. They'd had a late-lunch of pizza and chips at Levi's flat, since Eren's gut was complaining far too much to be ignored. Once they'd eaten, they'd taken their time getting their things ready before heading out to the car. In the glove-compartment there were tons of snacks, which Eren took great delight in popping into his mouth the further they got out of town. Every so often, he'd unwrap a sweet and lean over to pop it into Levi's mouth.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked, rolling a hard-candy in his mouth.

"Nearly," Levi said, taking a sharp turn into a car-park. "Here we are," he stated, as he parked up and took his seatbelt off.

Eren glanced out of the window and frowned. "You took me to the cinema?" he asked, perplexed.

Levi rolled his eyes, "Don't be a prat, brat." He climbed out of the car and Eren hastened to follow. "We're going to teach you how to drive."

"But this is a car park."

Levi shot him a deadpan look. "I'm aware, kid. Now, get into the driver's seat and we'll see how good you are."

Eren shifted his weight about, looking down at the tarmac underfoot. "I … I'm really not that good, Levi."

Levi opened the driver's door and pointed inside whilst staring at the younger man. "Get in."

His tone left no room for argument.

Eren sighed and gingerly climbed into the driver's seat. He waited patiently for Levi to walk around the back of the car and get into the passenger's. "Okay, now let's take it slow for now. Back-out of the space and do a circuit."

Eren swallowed thickly before turning the key and starting the car.

.

.

Two hours later in the heat of the car, Levi was demonstrating just how fast he could turn a corner and other various tricks they didn't let you do in the driving tests. He went to fast that Eren had to grip the dashboard whilst laughing his head off, yelling out for Levi to slow down, whilst not meaning a word of it. It was too much fun!

However, thanks to Levi's mad driving and the excited laughing fits, Eren gained confidence to do several circuits, parallel-park and various turns without almost no mistakes. He couldn't deny how satisfied he felt, especially considering that he needed to take the test within the next few months. If he could check that off, graduate and even plan a little holiday in the next two months or so, then he'd feel so much better about which direction his life was heading in.

He raced another circuit around the parking-lot before screeching to a halt, his heart thumping in his chest as Levi laughed deeply beside him.

"You're getting better at stopping," Levi said approvingly.

Eren dropped his head back and laughed. "God, it feels so good not to be micro-managed."

Levi glanced over at the younger man. Eren fiddled with the radio, getting nothing but static with clips of music flashing through. Levi popped a cigarette into his mouth, wound the window down and lit the end. He took a drag and blew smoke out into the air. The scent of smoke drew Eren's attention over to the older man and he frowned. "Have you ever thought of quitting?" he asked.

Levi quirked an eyebrow at him as he took another drag. "On and off," he said, another plume of smoke dispelling into the air. "Nothing seems to stick, though."

Eren nodded to himself but didn't say anything else. It seemed odd to him that someone as obsessive about cleaning as Levi was, would dirty his insides with the foul taint of cigarettes.

A hand on his thigh jolted him out of his musings.

Turning, he saw Levi leaning closer to him, the smell of cigarette smoke wafting up his nose. A shiver ran through him. "Ever fooled around in a car, kid?" he asked, huskily.

Eren swallowed, shaking his head. "N-no."

"Good. Now unzip your jeans and pull them down a little."

Eren could hear the blood rushing in his ears as he did as he was told. Levi flickered the last of his cigarette out of the window and turned his full attention to Eren. Undoing his belt, he leaned over the gear-stick and slipped his cool hand under the waistband of the brunette's boxers.

He had to suppress a gasp when he felt Levi's hot mouth wrap around his head, his tongue doing devilish things to his slit. He curled his fingers into Levi's hair, tossing his head back and forth against the headrest as his boyfriend sucked his dick. He tried to hold back the moans but some escaped his clenched teeth. Levi's mouth was hot and wet and sent Eren's mind spinning as he drew closer to a climax. Suddenly the sucking grew harder, Levi's head bobbing at a fast rhythm in his lap.

"Jesus, I'm gonna c-c-Ah!"

Levi continued sucking Eren's dick until he'd grown completely soft. Pulling away, he reached over into the glove compartment and drew out some tissues. He spat discreetly into the tissue whilst Eren sat there as though his muscles were made of rubber, panting heavily.

Eren lulled his head to one side and gaped at the older man. Levi smirked back. "That was fucking fantastic!" he gasped out.

"Glad you approve, brat." Levi leaned over and pressed a kiss to Eren's mouth. "You want to drive us home?"

"I only have a learner's license," Eren frowned.

"And you're in the car with someone who's been driving for over ten sodding years. Let's go."

With flushed cheeks, Eren quickly tucked himself back into his jeans before raking his hands through his hair. He drew in a deep breath before reaching for the key and turning the engine on. The engine whirred to life and soon Eren was pulling out of the parking-lot, feeling anxious all over again as he pulled out onto the main road that led back into town. His muscles were tense and his nerves were too loose in his mind to know what he needed to focus on.

Levi's hand rested on top of his over the gear-shift. "Just relax," his deep voice was soothing. "Take your time, there's no need to rush."

Eren felt a muscle tick in his jaw. He tried to calm himself down as they cruised down the main road. He made sure to check the speed limits on the roads and tried to leave enough space between the few cars on the road, just in case he needed to brake hard. When he pulled into the parking space reserved behind Levi's block of flats, Eren was both relieved and impressed with himself as they climbed out of the car. Levi walked around the front of the car, double-checking to see if there were any scrapes. Straightening up, he walked up to Eren and looped his arms around the younger man's neck. "You did a great job, kid, I'm proud of you." He kissed Eren's lips, lingering a little longer and savouring the taste of his young lover.

Eren hugged Levi closer, chuckling as the older man protested a little. "I'm so happy to be with you, you know?"

Looking up into the younger man's bright green eyes, Levi felt his insides knot. "I'm happy with you too, kid."

"Mmm-mmm," Eren shook his head. "Say it properly."

"I'm happy with you, Eren."

The dreamy look on the brat's face was both adorable and heart-warming. Levi couldn't resist leaning up for another kiss. This time they both lingered, deepening their kiss as the sky turned completely dark and the moon shone in the sky.

.

.

 **Friday AM**

.

The sound of plates and cutlery being moved around in the kitchen jarred Eren out of his dreams. Stretching his hand out over Levi's side of the bed he frowned; not only at the mattress being cool, but also about when he'd started thinking of it as 'Levi's side'. It made him feel comfortable and cosy as he rolled about in the blankets, debating on whether or not he wanted to get out of bed and see what Levi was doing in the kitchen. In the end, there was too much noise for him to tolerate, so he groaned, kicked the covers off and dragged himself out of bed.

Padding down the hallway, with one of the thinner throw blankets draped over his shoulders, he made his way towards the kitchen. Rubbing his hand in his eyes, he grabbed the doorway and used it to steady himself. "Levi what the hell are you cooking to be making so much noise?" he asked.

"Well good morning to you too!"

Eren froze. Peering up through his frazzled hair, he saw Isabel leaning against the counter a hand planted on her hip and a smirk on her face. "What are you –How did you get in?"

"I have a spare key," she shrugged. "Levi got a call from Erwin this morning, asking to be met for a coffee. I figured you didn't want to wake up totally alone so … figured I'd come and make you breakfast!"

"That's sweet of you, but you don't need to go through any trouble for me."

"Nonsense," Isabel beamed. "Farlan has been so busy this week, I feel like I needed some company anyway. Plus, for the entire week you've been here, I've only seen you once."

"You live down the hall," Eren pointed out. "You could've come by."

"I wanted to give you guys some space. This whole ordeal has really put Levi's back up. I don't think he'd have coped half as well if it wasn't for you. Has he mentioned anything? About the investigation?"

Eren shook his head.

"That's a shame," she said, pursing her lips. "I can only hope whatever Erwin has to say is good news."

Eren wound the blanket tighter around his body. He watched Isabel divide up the food just as his gut let out a hungry growl. Isabel grinned at him. "It's such a nice day, do you want to eat out on the balcony?"

"Does he have a table and chairs out there?"

"He does, they're just under the tarp. Hang on, I'll sort it out."

Before he could reply, she had vanished through the lounge and out onto the balcony. He watched as she pulled back the black plastic cover and dragged a collapsible black iron table and chairs. She quickly grabbed two of the sofa cushions and stuffed them onto the chairs before returning to the kitchen. "Okay, you grab the coffees and I'll take the food out."

Eren didn't argue.

He found it amusing as he watched the petite redhead balance two plates laden with fried food. Settling everything onto the table Eren pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. He still had the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The aroma of the food was enough to make a switch click in his brain. He tucked in with as much gusto as Isabel did, earning mutual chuckles from one another as Eren choked on a strip of perfectly crisped bacon.

Taking in deep breaths, he downed some coffee and sighed. "I've missed having a fry-up like this!"

"Levi doesn't cook breakfast for you?"

"He did once, but usually we sleep a little too late for a proper breakfast."

"Really?" Isabel tried to hide her smirk behind her coffee cup.

"What's with the face?"

"Nothing!" she flushed, "I'm just surprised. Levi has had issues sleeping for as long as I've known him and now he's sleeping _in_?"

Eren chuckled, "I don't know if that makes me a good influence or a terrible one."

"As long as he isn't ever late for work, then it's definitely a good thing."

Isabel smiled over the brim of her mug just as the sound of a key in the lock caught their attention.

There was the usual sounds of Levi taking his jacket and shoes off before padding into the living room. He caught sight of them through the French doors. Isabel beckoned him out, quickly standing up to grab one of the spare chairs out from under the tarp. Levi came out, a cushion in hand. Eren watched as his lover settled down in the chair, his expression was –as usual –unreadable. Eren shared a glance with Isabel before asking, "So what did your boss want?"

Levi leaned forward, steeping his fingers and pressing his lips against them. He stayed quiet for a few moments. Eventually, he raked a hand through his hair. "Well, you'll both be glad to know that the police called Erwin yesterday. They've found nothing and will be releasing my possessions back to Erwin to give to me over the next few days."

Both Isabel and Eren gasped.

Levi waved them silent and sighed. "It was also reported to me today, that a Ms. Carla Jeager went to the police and forced her husband there."

Eren held his breath.

"He retracted his statement. They're drawing up a restraining order preventing him being within five-hundred yards of me. He's also being fined for wasting police time with a false allegation."

Eren felt his heart beat in his throat.

Had his mother stood up to his father?

Had she really dragged him down to the station to retract his statement?

Did that mean Levi was free to go back to work? That he wouldn't have his career options restricted because of this false allegation?

Isabel broke the silence first. "Oh, Levi I am so glad! You didn't need this level of shit on top of end of year exams."

Levi shot her a quick look, the flinch of a smile, but nothing more.

Eren reached over and stroked his wrist. Levi glanced down at Eren's fingers, almost as though he'd never seen them before. Grey eyes looked up into green ones. Eren was unable to read any emotion in his lover's face. Finally, Levi sighed and slowly stood up. "I think I need to lie down."

Eren made a move to follow, but Isabel placed a hand on his arm, gently stopping him. Levi disappeared through the doors, vanishing out of sight as he turned the corner. Eren turned back to Isabel with a frown, "Why did you stop me?"

"Give him a few moments," she said, keeping her voice low. "It's been hard on him. Let him process it."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Finish your breakfast and once it's all cleared up, I'll go back home and give you guys some space."

Eren wanted to argue that they could very well have their alone time right now, but he knew it'd be rude to tell Isabel such a thing, especially since she'd been _so_ kind to break-in and make him breakfast. She really was a strange woman. In the end, he relented, resuming his breakfast as it cooled on the plate. His mind was still on Levi, just a few rooms away, warring with the turmoil his life had been recently inside his head. Guilt twisted his insides but there was no way to deal with it.

.

.

Once Isabel had left the flat, Eren looked from one end of the hall to the other. On the one hand he could go and wash the dishes. Isabel had offered, but Eren had insisted it'd make too much noise. On the other hand, he could go in the bedroom with Levi. Even if they didn't talk, he knew his presence would be appreciated.

Yeah, the dishes could wait.

The bedroom door barely whispered against the carpet beyond, as he peeked into the room. Levi was stretched out on his side of the bed. He had his fingers laced over his abdomen and his eyes were closed. He looked so serene. Closing the door softly, he crawled up the length of the bed and eased himself down on the mattress. He held his breath and leaned closer to Levi, near enough to feel the heat from his body but not close enough to touch –yet.

Gingerly, Eren wrapped his arm around Levi's waist.

The older man sighed softly in his sleep, his head turning a little towards Eren

Holding his breath, Eren waited for a moment, mentally counting as he watched Levi relax. He scooted closer, leaning his head down against Levi's shoulder. Relaxing, he felt bliss wash through him. Levi hummed sleepily and turned, bumping his nose against Eren's hair, and limply shifting his arm over Eren's. Faint rays of sunlight struggled to get through the slat-blinds and it illuminated the room with a gentle glow. It made Levi look even softer compared to his hard exterior.

Eren pressed a gentle kiss to his boyfriend's forehead before closing his eyes to sleep.

.

.

 **Friday PM**

.

Levi awoke slowly, letting the warm afternoon air coax him back to consciousness. He felt comfortable and cosy, the sunlight pressing against the drawn blinds. He turned his head and looked down; Eren was curled up under his arm with a strong arm curled over Levi's chest. Levi realised, in that moment that he had never felt calmer. Even with Erwin's news nestled in that back of his mind, he couldn't deny the tranquillity in his head.

Lazily, he combed his fingers through Eren's hair thinking about how easily they'd settled into a routine.

He'd slept more in the last week than he could ever remember. It was unsettling and he wasn't used to not have a headache drilling him from the inside out, but it wasn't unwelcome.

Eren shifted against his chest.

From the nightstand, his phone buzzed with a new message. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't want to disturb this feeling of peacefulness. However within five minutes another message buzzed, and Levi got irritated that the noise might bother Eren. He looked far too cute to disturb with a sodding text. Moving as little as possible, he reached over to take it from the nightstand. It was from Isabel.

.

.

[12:38] _Hey, I know you guys are probably still asleep but we were just wondering if you were still up for a Chinese tonight? X_

.

[12:44] _Also, Erwin said he's paying so … Yeah. Let me know x_

.

[12:50] I can imagine the brat and I will be hungry by 6. Will confirm again when said brat stops drooling into my armpit.

.

[12:51] _EWWWWWWWWWW!_

.

[12:53] _Is this a new kink you two have discovered?!_

.

[12:55] _ACTUALLY SCRATCH THAT! I don't wanna know! D:_

.

Levi smirked and then dropped his phone back onto the nightstand. He wrapped his arm loosely around Eren's shoulders, cradling him as his mind completely woke-up and thought about Isabel's invitation. It would be nice to see everyone again after his train-wreck of a week.

' _Well_ ,' he stopped himself. ' _It's been quite nice having the kid all to myself_.' He glanced down at Eren and felt his entire body grow fuzzy and warm. ' _Maybe it'd be nice … having him here permanently?_ '

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind that Levi decided right there and then, that he would be asking Eren to move in with him. He just needed to pick the right moment.

~0~

Eren tweaked the collar of his denim jacket. It was the only casual one he owned. Ruffling his hair in the hallway mirror, he frowned down at his attire; with converses, blue jeans and a plain green Henley under his denim jacket he looked casual enough for their evening plans but he still felt uneasy.

Perhaps it wasn't the outfit.

Perhaps it was the news Erwin had to tell them.

"Come on, kid, we need to go or we're going to be late!" Levi's voice rang from the doorway. Eren frowned one last time as his reflection before hurrying to meet up with him.

Levi glanced up from his phone. "Look at you all casual," he smirked.

Eren rolled his eyes, "When am I anything but casual?"

Levi smirked wider before nipping Eren's lip. "Let's take the bike. I have a spare helmet that should fit you."

Eren froze in the doorway. "L-Levi I've never ridden on a bike before."

"It's fine. Just lean when I lean and don't squeeze me to death."

Eren felt dread boil through him. "I don't think I can make that promise."

Levi noted the anxious expression on the taller man's face. "Hey," he reached out and squeezed Eren's forearm. "I promise not to go too fast, okay?"

Still unconvinced, Eren nodded. "Okay."

As soon as he was stood in front of the bike, however, he felt all nerve flee his body. "Levi –I can't get on that!"

Levi rolled his eyes as he swung his leg over the bike and settled comfortably into the seat. "Don't be absurd of course you can," he drawled as he held out the spare helmet he'd grabbed from his hallway cupboard. "Cram it on and let's go."

Eren took the helmet in his hands. It was heavier than he'd thought. Forcing it onto his head, was like having his skull squeezed into a vice. How did cats do this with their entire bodies? It wasn't natural! Adjusting his eyes to the darkened vision through the visor, Eren mirror Levi's action and swung his leg over the back of the bike, positioned his feet and wound his arms around Levi's waist.

The engine roared to life, vibrating every bone in his body. It made his teeth quake.

Suddenly, the black beast was moving, gravel crunching as Levi let the bike roll down towards the road. As soon as the wheels touched tarmac, they were off. Eren couldn't even hear his own thoughts other than the 'NONONONONONONONONONO!' he screamed inside his helmet as they sped down the road. The traffic shot by in a blur of dizzying lights and loud noises.

He had never been move relieved to see a Chinese restaurant in his life!

His legs felt bowed and his thighs were sore as he clicked his knees and popped the helmet off his head. His ears were ringing. Levi took them helmet from him, slicking his own hair into its usual style. Eren felt a little envious. Levi took the helmets and beckoned for Eren to follow him inside. It was right then that the nerves hit him threefold; he was nervous about meetings Levi's friends … again. Now that they had more time to focus on him, he suddenly felt terrified!

The warmth of the restaurant hit him in a wave of rice, alcohol and peanut sauce! His gut growled in appreciation. Levi hung their helmets up on the coat hooks by the door and took his and Eren's jackets off. "Come on, they should be at a booth, according to Isabel."

Eren nodded mutely, following Levi as the older man wove his way between the tables.

He spotted Isabel's red hair first.

"Eren! Levi! You made it!"

Other faces turned towards them. They were all grinning up at them. Levi was the first to speak. "Are you gonna move up for us or what?" he intoned.

Eren bit back his amusement as he watched them shuffle up the large booth to make more space. He slipped in on the end with Levi trapped between him and Hange. "How did you guys get here?" Farlan asked as they slipped two menus over the table. Eren scanned his but Levi didn't even pick his up off the table. Eren wouldn't be surprised if the man had the entire thing memorised.

"We took the bike."

"Really?" Hange grinned wickedly over at Eren. "Did he fire your engines up?"

Eren felt his cheeks burn up. Levi jabbed Hange sharply in the ribs. "Shut your mouth, four-eyes! If you must know, he did well for his first time."

Hange pouted as she rubbed her chest, but her win was back within moments. Eren watched the exchange with raised eyebrows. Isabel smiled at him and leaned over the table, "Don't take much notice, these two fight all the time."

"It's just weird seeing my teacher get beat up by someone."

Isabel grinned, "I don't envy you there!"

A waitress came by and took their drink orders and swiped all the menus off the table. Within five minutes the were served their drinks; the men had beers, Hange had some fancy orange cocktail and Eren decided just to have a vodka and coke. Isabel opted to have green tea as she was the designated driver. It was another ten minutes before they ordered their food and by then Eren was easing into casual conversation, mostly with Farlan and Issy, but the others chimed in as well. Hange kept reaching over and ruffling his hair and cackling. It was a nice, friendly atmosphere. He liked the mature company; if it had been him and his friends at least one of them would already be drunk and it would digress into immature discussions about the latest reality TV, instagram wars and relationship drama.

The clinking of a glass drew all heads to Erwin.

Eren held his breath and felt Levi tense up beside him.

He was a hulking man with a blonde buzz cut and cold blue eyes that sent a chill deep into Eren's cut. This man was definitely a leader; he oozed authority. It was no wonder he was the head of Levi's school. As he raised his glass, despite the casual attire, Eren couldn't help but feel puny in comparison.

"I'd like to make my announcement now so we can get it over with and try to enjoy the rest of the night," he started. His deep voice did not dispel the sinking feeling in Eren's chest. "As you may all know, Levi here has been under investigation and, even though as of yesterday afternoon the statements were retracted, the police still needed to complete their enquiry on 'the off chance'."

' _Oh God … is this it?_ ' Eren bit down hard on his lip.

"Now I am pleased to announce that Levi has been cleared of all charges, and since the allegation was false, they have assured me that it will not go on his record. Thank God, Levi, we all need you back. You're the only one who keeps the brats in line."

"That's fantastic!" Hange shrieked, grabbing Levi and hugging him tight. Eren laughed with relief as Levi's head was getting crushed.

"A bloody good thing too!" Isabel snapped. "You're the last person this should have happened to."

"I'm just –GET OFF ME SHITTY GLASSES! –Just glad that it's over and buried."

He pushed Hange away from him –as much as he could –and smoothed his hair back. His expression was grumpy but Eren could see the relief in his grey eyes. Under the table he took Levi's hand in his own and entwined their fingers. Levi squeezed his in return. It was then that their food arrived, cluttering the table. Erwin looked a lot more relaxed and Levi shot the older man a grateful smile for keeping his speech as short as possible. He didn't want a huge fuss made of the ordeal. He could go back to work first thing on Monday, that was the main thing. As far as he was concerned, that was all that mattered.

And Eren. Eren mattered.

Once everyone had their food, Isabel cleared her throat. "Sorry guys, I need to say something."

All heads turned to her. Eren could feel the tension all of a sudden; everyone was starving and it was not a good idea to delay eating. Especially if two of said gathered group had been in bed for the better part of the day.

"Actually _we_ have something to say." Isabel shared a doting look with Farlan and Hange squealed.

"Oh my God you're finally getting married?!"

Isabel blushed. "Yes but that's not the news. Well, not the big news."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Shut the fuck up four-eyes!" Levi snapped as the bespectacled woman leaned right over the table and the mountain of food to strangle Isabel into a hug. Levi grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back down into her seat. "Pipe down, urchin, I'd like my dinner NOT to have remnants of whatever you've been dissecting in your spare time!"

Eren laughed along with the others.

"So what's your news?"

"We're going to have a baby!"

Isabel blushed again a shower of congratulations were fired her way. Farlan preened like a proud peacock, his arm weaving around Isabel's shoulders and pulling her close. He dropped a kiss on her head and Eren felt adoration flood his senses.

Erwin declared he was getting a round in for everyone and there were cheers as he muscled his way towards the bar.

It was a good night, filled with levity, praises and merriment for all involved.

They toasted to Levi's freedom, Isabel's blessing, and the restaurant for not having any karaoke for Hange to abuse. All seemed right with the world and Eren, for once, was going to revel in the lightness of the world around him.

* * *

 **A/N: There you go guys, I'm so sorry for the long update time but working full-time at Christmas will do that to you :( Anyways, I hope you liked it! Let me know what you think in the reviews! Xox**


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year! xox**

* * *

 **Levi is BOLD.**

 _Eren is italic._

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

Summer came in a manic rush.

Eren and Levi didn't get much time to see one another; Eren crammed for hours at a time to refine the masterpiece of a dissertation whereas Levi had to monitor the exam-prep of his students and attend at least three of said exams a day. Apparently the students disturbed the hall less when he was present at the front of it.

They had gotten into the habit of Eren coming up to stay with Levi from Friday afternoon to Monday morning. It wasn't the most ideal set-up but after a conversation with his mother, Eren had conceded that he did need to spend time at home, especially with Mikasa's home-coming from her travels and Armin getting more free time now that all their papers had been handed in. The only reason Levi had allowed him to set foot back into his parent's house was because Mikasa was back, and sided with Eren from the get-go.

That didn't mean he had to like it though.

At the very least, the brat returned every Friday afternoon.

It took the rough edge off of the whole week. Levi would wait, dressed and ready to head out to meet the rest of his friends at the Chinese restaurant. Eren would rush in, dump his back behind the door, spray some deodorant on and follow Levi out to the car. After their last attempt on the bike, Eren begged and pleaded with him to always use the car. Not that Levi was deterred. He'd get Eren comfortable on the bike one way or another.

Despite frequent invitations, Levi refused to go to Eren's house. Eren assured him that his father would leave anyway if he knew Levi was visiting, but the older man flat out refused. Not that Eren minded going to Levi's place; to a degree, he preferred it even if there were no personal touches of his own.

The last week of July saw Levi's school-year drawing to a close –along with a huge card from his Year 10 students with goofy messages and pictures stuck inside which Eren found rather adorable –and Isabel's gradually growing stomach. A lot had been changing as the days grew longer, people grew slower and lazier, until full-on summer mode hit the planet. For his part, Eren felt as though he could finally breathe a little easier. With no more Uni work to worry about and now only graduation to struggle through in September, he figured he was due a break.

It was on a Tuesday afternoon whilst Eren was sunning himself in a deckchair with Mikasa and chatting idly, whilst Armin sucked on an ice-lolly in the shade, that his phone buzzed with a text message from Levi. Mikasa quirked an eyebrow behind her large sunglasses. "You guys still spam each other? God that's so sad."

"I think it's sweet!" Armin chirruped from his shady spot on his deckchair. They'd been in the sun for about half an hour before the blonde had felt the need to retreat. He burned too easily.

Eren wondered if Levi burned easily.

Swiping up his phone, he squinted against the sunlight to read the messages.

.

.

[13:45] **Remember how I said I wasn't going to kill Issy today?**

[13:47] **Well, I lied.**

[13:51] **I'm going to murder her and dump the body in the ocean.**

[13:58] _Hang on Mister! What did we say about killing people unnecessarily?_

[14:04] **… Not in the house?**

[14:06] _Good boy._

[14:09] _Too easy to trace. You know this._

[14:12] _What did she do to you this time?_

[14:15] **She manipulated me to go baby shopping with her.**

[14:16] **Hence death.**

[14:20] _OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?_

[14:23] _YOU'RE LOOKING AT BABY CLOTHES?_

[14:24] **… No.**

[14:27] _SHOW ME SOMETHING!_

[14:30] **How do you scowl through a phone?**

[14:34] _LEVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII_!

[14:37] **Eurgh**

[14:40 **] [.JPEG]**

[14:43] _Awwww those are quite sweet._

[14:46] _Look at you not buying her black stuff!_

[14:50] **It was a struggle, I won't lie.**

[14:52] _You poor man. I suppose you'll have to sacrifice a goat now._

[14:56] **… You have some weird fetishes, kid. But okay. Whatever makes you happy.**

[14:58] _Hardy har-har. NOT funny!_

[15:02] **I'm immensely funny.**

[15:05] _You're a douche._

[15:07] **I'm your douche. Now, down to business you little snot-bucket.**

[15:10] **Since the sun wants to fry the planet, and us along with it, how do you feel about going away for a week or two?**

[15:14] _You mean … like a holiday?_

[15:18] **Perhaps. I know it's a bit short-notice, but we don't have to go abroad. Even somewhere LESS busy would be a sodding holiday.**

[15:21] _Like down in Brighton?_

[15:25] _Or Cornwall?_

[15:28] **Yes. Although why you'd go to CORNWALL is beyond me.**

[15:31] _I'd imagine it looks vaguely nicer when it's sunny._

[15:32] _So would it just be us two?_

[15:35] **I was thinking maybe the six of us could go.**

[15:36] _6?_

[15:38] **You and your friends. Me and mine.**

[15:41] _Really? You've met my friends like … one time._

[15:43] **Wouldn't want you getting bored. Besides, you haven't seen them for ages. You've all worked hard. Why not have a break?**

[15:47] _They'd pay their way though, right? They're sort of if-y about hand-outs._

[15:50] **Oi brat, I'm a TEACHER not a MILLIONAIRE. I'm merely extending an invitation. I'm not PAYING for anyone else to come.**

[15:53] _Haha! Okay phew! That's so kind of you. Although um …_

[15:57] _Hange won't be coming … Will she?_

[16:03] **Hange isn't coming. Any fun had would be safe-fun, not 'electrocuted in a shark-cage' fun.**

[16:05] _Did that really happen? If yes, she's a PSYCHO. If not … Well, I'd say it's only a matter of time._

[16:07] **You have no idea, kid.**

[16:10] **Balls. Got to go. Issy's death-glaring me for texting too much. Talk to your friends and let me know what they say.**

[16:14] _Will do. Stay safe. Don't anger the mothership!_

[16:16] **Too late.**

[16:18] _Stay safe!_

 _._

 _._

"YEOW!"

Eren jumped off his deckchair as water splashed over him. It narrowly missed his phone as he glared at Mikasa standing over him. "The fuck was that for?"

She smirked at him, "We asked you three times if you wanted to go in and have some ice-cream. You were so engrossed in your phone you didn't hear shit!"

Eren rolled his eyes. "Well since you're being a mega-bitch, I'm not going to tell you what Levi and I were talking about."

"I'm sure your sex-capades are very interesting, Eren, but I don't want to know about them. Nor does Armin."

"Hey!" Eren felt his cheeks go red as he followed after Mikasa and Armin. The coolness of the house hammered home just how long he'd been lying out in the sun. God, he hoped he'd had enough sun-cream on. "If you MUST know, he was inviting us to go on a little holiday for a week or two."

"Holiday?" Armin popped his head up from where he'd been crouching in front of the open freezer. "Where to?"

"Currently undecided. I guess it depends on who's coming."

Mikasa cocked her head to the side, "Wouldn't you rather it just be the two of you?"

Eren shrugged. "Either is fine with me. I haven't seen you guys in ages so it's kind of nice of him to invite you along too."

Mikasa smirked as she unwrapped an ice-lolly. "We're not going anywhere anymore, Eren! Go and have fun with your boyfriend. When school starts up again, you won't get many chances to get away."

Eren frowned in thought as he accepted a magnum from Armin. "I guess you're right. But you guys only just got free time again."

"So hang-out with us properly until you go and see your boyfriend."

"Well, we could go for a week?" Armin suggested. "That way Eren and Levi can get a week to themselves as well, and we still get to have a mini-get-away."

"That's a good point," Mikasa frowned in thought. "Would that be okay, do you think?"

"Let me ask him."

.

[16:35] _What do you think about only inviting friends for one week, then we can have the second week to ourselves?_

.

He sent the message and tried not to tap his phone impatiently whilst he waited for a response. Would Levi respond straight away? Or would Issy hit him with the phone for trying?

.

[16:40] **I'd prefer two weeks with you, but I have to learn to compromise at some time in my life.**

[16:43] _We already had several weeks together in Lincoln and the other month! Can't be selfish!_

[16:45] **Sounds good to me, brat. I'll let Farlan and Issy know.**

[16:47] _Thanks!_

 _._

"He says it's okay!" Eren beamed.

"Finally! A holiday!" Armin thrust his ice-lolly in the air. "It feels like forever since we were able to relax properly!"

"Speak for yourself, Armin," Eren said. "Mika has been all over bloody Europe and all she came back with was sunburn."

"Oi!" Mikasa looked affronted. "I also got you guys those souvenirs!"

"Yeah thanks for my shell necklace," Eren retorted with a smirk.

Mikasa took her ice-lolly and rolled it down the side of her brother's cheek.

Eren yelped and jumped away, "THE HELL MIKA? THAT'S FUCKING COLD!"

Mikasa merely smirked at him before popping the end of the lolly back in her mouth. Armin snickered as she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Eren to scowl at her back whilst cleaning the sticky coldness from his skin.

~0~

The night was hot and sticky. Eren lie spread-eagled on his bed with the tiny fan on his desk circulating the humid air. He felt alert and irritable. Downstairs he could hear his parents still milling about. Things had been tense at home since he'd gotten back. It was like living on the knife's edge, just waiting for someone to snap and shatter the torturous silence that hung over their house.

Eren kept out of his dad's way and vice versa.

Graduation was going to be a quiet affair. With all the melodrama that had occurred Eren had gotten in late to book the tickets for his guests. He'd only managed to get the two of the four he'd initially wanted to get. Mikasa had already surrendered her own ticket, more than happy to meet up with them afterwards at the restaurant. Eren felt bad but she assured him over and over that it was fine.

He wanted his mum to go. To a degree, he wanted his dad to come too, however his recent behaviour had spoken for itself.

Did he invite Levi?

He felt a little awkward about it, having his boyfriend –a teacher no less –attending a graduation ceremony for someone who was neither his pupil nor his child. He drummed his fingers on his stomach as he contemplated it. They'd technically only been dating for a couple of months now, talking for seven. Was that long enough? He knew people who had gotten engaged and married after a shorter period of time. Would Levi even wanted to come?

' _You're over-thinking this again!_ ' his brain chided.

Eren frowned. There was only one way to find out. Swiping up his phone from the edge of the bed, he opened up a new message and tapped one out to Levi.

.

[2:02] _Hey, sorry if this wakes you, but I had something on my mind I wanted to ask you about._

.

He tapped 'SEND' and waited.

.

[2:14] **Shoot.**

[2:18] _Well I could only get two tickets for graduation and I wasn't sure who to take in the hall with me. Mika has already said she doesn't mind meeting up later, but now I feel bad because I don't feel like dad deserves to be there._

[2:20] _But then he's my dad and did contribute to my studies._

[2:24] _I just don't really know what to do and I feel like either way I'm going to end disappointing someone._

[2:26] **Eren.**

[2:27] **Rambling.**

[2:28] _Sorry._

[2:31] **Ask your question.**

[2:35] _Right! Um … I was wondering if you'd like to come to my graduation ceremony?_

[2:37] **When?**

[2:39] _It's at the end of August._

[2:41] **Weird.**

[2:43] _I know._

[2:45] **Ok.**

[2:47] _You'll come? Are you sure? It's okay if you don't want to._

[2:53] **Rambling.**

[2:55] _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!_

[2:57] _So you'll come?_

[2:59] **Yes.**

[3:04] _Levi … That means a lot to me … I … I love you for that you know?_

[3:07] **Love you too**

[3:10] _Do you want me to let you go back to sleep?_

[3:12] **Ok.**

[3:15] _Sweet dreams. Xox_

[3:21] **X**

~0~

 **Friday AM**

.

The bags were packed and Levi had been awake since about half five that morning, if his wake-up text to Eren was anything to go by. He'd asked if he wanted to come by and pick everyone up, but Eren had spammed his fist against his phone, sending Levi an incomprehensible text which translated into Levi's brain as ' _Eren would like to sleep some more'_.

So he sat back and flicked through the news channels. Sent a text to both Issy and Farlan.

No one replied.

He was just toying with the idea of texting Hange, when Eren's picture flashed up on the screen. He was calling him. Levi swiped to answer and held the phone to his ear, "Hello?"

" _I'm assuming you can't sleep_?"

"You assumed correct," Levi nodded to himself. He clenched and unclenched the fist balled up on his knee. He felt a little anxious that the first day of their little get-away was officially here. How did he tell Eren that he hadn't been on a holiday for nearly fifteen years? How did he explain to Eren that he'd never, not once, gone on holiday with a lover before? And not just with a lover, but said lover's _friends_ , too?

It made his chest ache a little.

Eren stifled a yawn. " _Are you nervous about today? Is that why you're up so early?"_

Damn, the kid knew him too well.

"Of course not," he snapped. "It just seems a shame to waste such a nice day."

" _See, I can always tell when you're lying_."

"How so?"

" _You use words like 'sweet' and 'nice' or 'adorable'_."

Despite himself, Levi chuckled.

"You're a little shit," he said.

" _But I make you smile so it's worth it_." Eren made a noise like he was stretching out across his bed. Levi felt his inside's twist. All too soon he would get Eren, hot and steamy from the hot weather, stretching and keening beside him. For two whole weeks. " _Hey Levi?_ "

Levi smirked at the whispering. "Yes, Eren?"

" _I can't wait to spend two weeks with you_."

Relief washed over him. He closed his eyes, relishing the sensation. "I can't wait either, kid. I'm just anxious about the travel," he lied smoothly. "Just need to get there and settle in. Then I'll relax."

Eren snorted in disbelief.

" _Okay grumpy-pants. I'm going to doze for a bit longer. Then you and your lot can come and pick us up. How does that sound?_ "

"Awful."

" _I know but I'm not giving you a choice_."

Levi chuckled. "Okay, okay. I'll let you sleep. I'll ring you in an hour okay?"

Eren gave a sleepy 'mhmm' before the older man hung up.

Well, now he had an hour to kill. Drumming his fingers on his knee, he glanced around his bedroom. It was immaculate. He felt an itch to tidy up the other rooms in his flat but he didn't want to do that. If he started he wouldn't be able to stop himself in time to drive down to London. Grinding his teeth together, he hopped off of the bed and went back to the bookcase in his living room. He had a feeling he'd need a lot of reading material, pool-side.

.

.

 **Friday AM (later)**

.

"BYE MUM!" Mikasa called out over her shoulder as she lugged her small suitcase off the front step. Armin was already at the curb, his blonde hair almost white in the sunlight.

Levi's car was parked up at the foot of their drive, the boot was open as were the back doors. Said man was leaning against the car, his leg crossed over at the ankle and his dark sunglasses obscuring the deadpan expression he wore. His arms were folded across his chest. Inside the neighbouring car, Issy and Farlan were already waiting, Issy's belly beginning to show under her floaty summer top.

Carla stood in the doorway, watching as the three friends went out on their first holiday abroad. As Eren tried to squeeze past her, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a tight hug. It was so uncomfortable due to the intense heat but she didn't care.

"Uh mum! Not in front of Levi!" Eren hissed out, trying to pry her sticky arm away from him.

Carla chuckled and pecked him on the cheek. He really was far too tall. She smiled brightly. "Just let me know that you get there safely, okay? I don't want to worry too much."

Eren rolled his eyes but hugged his mum one last time and kissed the top of her head. "We'll be fine," he assured her. "If I don't text you, I'm sure Mika will."

"Okay well try and behave."

"Nope!"

She shook her head, smiling, as he backed down the garden path towards the car. She felt her heart swell when he looped an arm around Levi's stiff shoulders and stole a kiss before grinning and rounding the car to the passenger seat. Mikasa and Armin were already strapped into the back seats. Over the top of the car Eren waved at her before ducking inside. Levi offered her his own little one-handed wave before sliding into the driver's seat.

Carla stood in the doorway until the car pulled off the curb and drove out of sight down the road. It was only when the noise of traffic disappear did she finally return to the coolness of her house.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, it's a little short and a bit of a filler chapter, but don't worry, I'm already working on the following chapter! x**


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them! I'm sorry it has taken such a long time to update. I've had some health issues (not my own but my partner) so I've barely had a spare moment to think.**

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

 ** _~ September ~_**

 **Thursday PM**

 _._

 _._

 _Breathe in ..._

 _Breathe out ..._

' _You can do this, You can do this, You can do this_.'

He repeated the mantra over and over in his head, the cap making his brow sweat more than it should have. His section had been called up to the stage and now he was slowly inching his way towards the steps that would lead him up to the platform. His stomach flipped. His palms were clammy. Nearer the front of the queue of students, two teachers adjusted their hats and robes as they mounted the steps. He knew he was over-thinking it all. The hardest part had been finishing the dissertation. This should have been the simpler part; getting up on stage, shaking the chancellor's hand and accepting his degree on the way down the other side.

Easy, right?

He was inching forward.

He cast his green eyes out across the hall and blanched. There were so many faces staring back at him. The ones on the flat floor of the hall directly in front of the stage were his fellow classmates. They were drowned in black robes and pointed square hats. Beyond that, on the elevated seating areas, there were hundreds of parents, siblings and close friends all waiting to see their respective relation graduate. There had been so many rounds of applause he was sure he'd gone deaf.

Names were called out, sometimes an additional award was allotted to whomever had won it, and bit-by-bit Eren made his way closer to the stage.

Somewhere out in those seats his mother, sister and Levi were sat, dressed to the nines all just to watch him shake some dude's hand and accept a folder with his degree inside. The ceremony had already gone on for forty-five minutes and he'd nodded off a little until someone had nudged his shoulder, gesturing for him to get up and queue with the rest of them.

In the end, he'd stuck to his principal's and not invited his dad to his graduation.

He just couldn't deal with that level of awkwardness.

They'd all driven to the Uni and Eren had to leave them half an hour before the ceremony so he could collect his rented robes and the absurd hat –not that he exactly had the £50 to piss away but whatever, it was done now.

"For a degree in Ancient History … Eren Jaeger!"

With his hat tweaked and his shoulders straightened, he felt ready. Stepping across the stage, his stomach plummeted and his head buzzed with the weight of all those eyes on him! He was sure his hand was dripping in sweat as he shook his chancellor's hand, drew in a deep breath and then made his way across to the staircase on the other side of the stage. He took each step down carefully, the relief washing over him. He was handed the folder with his degree from another tutor, before filing back around the hall towards his allocated seat.

That was it! He'd done it!

There was only another section of students left to accept their degrees, before the closing speeches. Armin was in that last set. Eren squirmed in his seat and tried to remain focused to watch his friend accept his degree, however it was so hot in the robes he was close to just shedding them. He felt his leg jig in irritation as he cheered for Armin, and then tolerated the others.

The chancellor's closing speech seemed to go on forever.

Finally –FINALLY –they were allowed to leave.

The fresh air was rejuvenating as he waited by the entrance for Armin to get out. It took a while but he eventually saw the shock of bright blonde hair. Waving his friend over, they hugged, congratulated one another and then stood off to one side of the walkway so they could easily spot their relatives as they came out. It took a while but eventually he spotted Levi's stoic expression as he descended the stairs. Carla's bright floral dress was right behind him and then Mikasa brought up the rear in a peach and purple dress with a thin red scarf wrapped around her neck.

Armin's grandfather and parents appeared a little way further up the staircase.

When everyone had assembled and exchanged hugs, polite greetings and a curt nod of the head in Levi's case, Mikasa suggested that they go towards the floral-wall display near the front of the University's building in order to take some photos. Eren hadn't opted to pay for an official graduation portrait, so this was the closest he was going to get.

It was too much fun, Eren realised, to do silly poses in their most serious get-up. Armin carried him on his back as he waved their hats in the air, a few of their classmates like Sasha and Annie popped over to take some more photos before re-joining their own families. Mikasa and Eren took some photos together, then Carla joined in, gushing about how proud she was over her babies!

Then it was Levi's turn.

The usual side-by-side pose was not going to work for Eren. He looped his arm around Levi's neck and made a peace sign at the camera, he awkwardly placed his cap on the shorter man's head, and then he used his cap to shield their faces as he kissed the older man. Levi, a little flustered, smoothed his hair down and straightened his jacket before glowering up at the excitable brat. "How about we take a nice photo? None of your goofy business."

Eren pouted but then relented. "O-kaaaay. Just for you, though. Everyone else gets the mad shit!"

So, Eren relented and took a nicely posed photograph with Levi's arm around his waist. He couldn't deny how sweet it would look. He was beyond surprised when the shorter man scooped him up bridal-style. He knew he looked dopey, with flushed cheeks and his hat askew but he couldn't have been happier. Just seeing the cocky smirk and hearing the older man chuckle was worth it.

Once all the photos were taken, and their robes had been handed in, they decided to go out for some drinks before their dinner reservation. Armin and his relatives were going out to dinner straight away so that they could get his grandfather home and in bed by a decent hour. Watching the blonde saunter off with his family left Eren feeling a pang of guilt. He had just wished his father could accept him being with Levi, even after the police report had fallen flat. However, he couldn't forgive the man so easily. He just wanted the support in his life choices.

"Eren?" Mikasa prodded his shoulder. "Go and hand those robes back in so we can get some drinks."

"Yeah, yeah I'm going!" he shooed her hands away with a half-hearted grin before heading off towards the main reception area.

After he handed the robes and hat in, Eren came back out with a grin and fell in-step with his little group as they made their way off-campus.

Their drinks lasted no longer than an hour and then it was time to move to the restaurant three doors down. It was warm and inviting. They were seated nearer the front of the restaurant, nearer the door which allowed a cool evening breeze to whisper in and take the edge off the heat they felt.

~0~

 **Tuesday AM**

.

.

It was that particular photo –where Levi was carrying Eren bridal style –which the older man was currently looking at. He'd had the few nicest photos of themselves framed so that he could mount them up in his flat. He'd chosen sleek, black frames that had no additional sheen to them. Matte black, sharp enough to take an eye out, and contrasted beautifully with his lighter walls.

Isabel had made a joke the other day, saying that he was creating a love-collage on his wall. The only reason she hadn't died was because she was pregnant. Otherwise …

Though, to a degree he couldn't deny her statement. For years his walls had been bare, the most elaborate art feature he owned was his black ceramic clock hung up in the kitchen. He liked remembering all those good times with Eren. It was hard to believe that just a year ago his life had been considerable lonelier and just that little bit shit. Now he had framed photos of himself with a _boyfriend_. He'd not really had that before. Glancing up at the rest of the photos he quirks a smile; they had taken so many photos on their holiday to Spain. Armin had gotten so sunburnt on the second day! The poor man looked as though he was a cartoon character.

Eren, however, tanned quite nicely. He'd gotten the most deliciously golden tan to his skin that it took all of Levi's self-control not to drag him back to their hotel room every chance he got. There was a picture of them half-sitting on a set of black rocks stretching out into the frothy waves. Eren was sprawled out in his red swimming trunks with sunglasses on his nose, gazing into the sun. He looked like a young Greek God. Levi, on the other hand, only got the faintest suggestion of something resembling a tan, so he looked like the ghost of the little fucking mermaid in comparison. However, they both looked relaxed propped up on their elbows.

There was another photo of them walking hand-in-hand along a bridge in the evening. Levi remembered that they'd held back a little so that he could speak to Eren with a little privacy. It hadn't been anything important really, not that he remembered.

There was a group photo of them all having lunch at a trendy little café. It had white table and chairs, huge umbrellas and brilliant pink and purple flowers sprouting along the bridge behind them. That was when Issy had asked him to be the godfather of their child. He'd been dumbstruck, according to the look the camera had snapped. Eren on the other hand, had slung an arm around his neck and was grinning beautifully.

Some of the photos hadn't been anything monumental; some had just been sweet moments that Levi had wanted to always remember fondly. Returning to the table he picked up the last photo and ran his thumb over the smooth, black frame. It was a gorgeous photo, completely spontaneous but Levi couldn't deny that that's what made it perfect. They'd been mucking around in their hotel room during their last few days at the hotel. Eren had his phone out and was trying to take a photo without Levi noticing –that didn't work out. Now he had an adorable photo of himself straddling Eren and tickling the kid as he howled with laughter, sunlight dappled of their bodies from the slanted blinds –it was just too perfect.

This one wasn't about to go on the wall –it was going on his bedside table.

It was only when he got to his bedroom door that he stopped and realised something; he'd thought of it as his bedside table on his side of the bed. The other side of the bed and the table belonged to Eren.

Eren's side of the bed.

As he set the photo-frame on his bedside table, he glanced over at Eren's side of the bed. The sheets were still pulled fairly taut, unused, for the last two days. As selfish as it sounded he didn't just want Eren to be around on the weekends. It felt like half the brat's time was being eaten up by travelling all the time. Levi frowned; what could he do to change that? He could always make the effort and go and see Eren at his own house, but the idea of suffocating his shithead father with his own tie-clip collection was just too tempting.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed he continued to frown into thin air. Isabel would have said it was obvious. Hange would comment that he was over-thinking when the answer was really, rather simple.

Issy would know.

Making sure he had his keys, he ducked out of his flat and went down the hall and knocked. Isabel was home, wearing some tracksuit bottoms and a loose jumper that just about covered her bump. "Hey stranger," she grinned as she closed the door behind him. "I was wondering what you were up to today."

Levi offered a small smile but didn't comment. Isabel waddled into the living room and settled on her little nest in the corner of the sofa. Levi offered to get them both a drink. She smiled and said she felt lazy even though they both know it's because she'd pregnant. Levi returned with some a cup of tea each and settled down on the end of the sofa by Issy's feet.

"So, what's brought you here to my little nest?" she asked coyly.

"I was just hanging up some of my photos and it got me thinking," he said evasively.

"About?" she coaxed, looking at him over the rim of her mug.

"Just how close Eren and I have gotten since we started speaking."

Isabel nodded sagely as she warmed her hands up. It had been a rather bitter day, the chill clinging to every room in the building. "Well nine months is a fairly long time to get comfortable with someone," she said. "Some people get married within six, so I think you guys are doing well."

Levi snorted and sipped his tea. "I just don't want to do anything that makes him … think we're going too fast."

"Levi," she chided. "Eren is besotted with you. He'd do pretty much whatever you asked."

"He needs to be comfortable with it too!" he argued.

"I know. All I'm saying is that you make him feel so comfortable that he would do whatever you ask. He kind of loves you, you know. With your weird aversion to colour, your tea-habit and that DAFT way you organise your shampoos."

Levi shot her a look, which made her giggle.

"Sorry," she grinned. "The point is he loves you. He'd probably move-in with you if you asked."

"What if I want to?"

"What to what?"

"Want him to move in with me."

Isabel stilled. She watched Levi from over the mug, steam billowing into her face. She had known the man for the better part of her life and he had never opened himself up to any sort of serious relationship, until now. Eren had literally shattered the shell Levi kept himself in. Levi was gaining confidence, a spark relighting inside him that had died out as soon as he'd been shipped off to the Army. Eren was magical.

"Do you really mean that?" she found herself asking.

Levi nodded.

Leaning over, Isabel took his hand in her own and squeezed. He frowned slightly at her. "Do not waste an opportunity to be happy, Levi. Ask him. Make a big deal out of it. He'd appreciate knowing how much you want this and how much you care about him."

Somehow, having Isabel's approval, made the decision that much more real. It flooded Levi's insides with an overwhelming happiness. Not that he let it show at all. He squeezed his friend's hand. "Whatever that baby is doing to your brain it's working. You're getting wiser."

Isabel swatted him on the arm. "Hush, you! I was smart before I got knocked-up!"

"You keep telling yourself that, Red."

"I have a good mind to kick you out," she stated.

"You won't do it though," he stated in a cocky manner.

"Of course not!" she shook her head. "That'd be rude! Besides, who else would get me ice cream?"

Levi shot her a deadpan look. "I am NOT getting you ice cream."

"Levi!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"LEVI-I-I-I!"

"N. O."

"Fine!" she huffed and wriggled lower in her seat.

Levi ignored her, turning his attention to the TV and drinking the last of his tea. Suddenly his phone buzzed. Opening the text from Eren, Levi frowned. "Issy, did you just text Eren to get me to buy you ice cream?"

"No."

"Then how you explain this?" He turned his phone around so she could read the message.

.

[16:45] _Levi stop bullying Isabel! If the baby needs ice cream get the woman some ice cream! Don't be a grump, godfather! X_

.

Isabel kept her face as neutral as possible. She could feel Levi's eyes boring into her skull. "The kid must be psychic."

"Cute," Levi intoned. "But you're still not getting ice cream."

"OH, COME ON MAN!"

They continued to bicker like this for the better part of an hour until, by some miracle of God himself, Farlan returned home with a six-pack of beer, for himself, and now Levi, and a tub of raspberry ice cream for Isabel.

.

.

 **Saturday PM**

.

Levi cast one last look in the mirror before sighing. This was as good as it was going to get. He glanced at his watch –he still had time. He was meeting Eren in an hour and a half. He was treating the brat, taking him to a new restaurant up London. He'd heard only good reviews about the place and he figured it would be the perfect place to show Eren how much he meant to him.

He knew the kid wasn't really into such frivolities however Levi wanted to mix things up a little bit.

Adjusting his collar one last time, he swiped his keys off the counter and left the flat. Hurrying down the stairs, he slipped into his car and started up the engine in record time before pulling out onto the main road.

The drive to London was uneventful.

He pulled up outside Eren's house and, instead of usually honking the horn, he slipped out into the soft night air. Walking up the garden path, he pressed the doorbell and waited as patiently as possible. The door swung open in a matter of moments to reveal Eren. He had given himself a make-over –or perhaps his sister had finally gotten her hands on him. He was dressed in pressed pants, a dark green dress shirt and a sleek black blazer over the top. He'd even styled his hair to sit in thick, brunette waves away from his eyes. It left his face looking open and beautiful.

"You look amazing," Levi admired.

Eren blinked and then grinned. "Thanks. So do you. You look hotter than every James Bond."

Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course I do, brat. That much is obvious."

Eren laughed charmingly as he closed the door and slid his hand into Levi's. They walked up the drive enjoying the soft night air against their skin. Levi opened his door and as soon as Eren was comfortably inside, he closed the door and went around to the driver's side.

Driving into London was always manic and it was one of the reasons Levi hated doing it. However, this was a special night for the two of them so he was going to eat the parking charges and hope to God the restaurant was as good as the reviews claimed it was.

When they finally got into the restaurant and were seated Levi had to admit it looked pretty nice; the countertops at the bar were black, speckled marble, the wood was dark and polished and the wall art was 3D with a mixture of gold, silver, black and bronze cubes jutting out in all directions. The large orb-lights descend from the ceiling in various heights and cast a soft, barely-there glow on the diners underneath.

Each table had a slender vase with a single, fat black rose in it.

The plates were black, too, rimmed with a single band of gold.

It was spectacular.

Eren looked entirely stunned as they settled down in their seats. The glow of the lights made him look incandescent. Levi felt his heart hammering in his chest. His throat was dry. He couldn't deny his gratitude when the waitress swept into their airspace and took their drink orders with a promise to return for the food.

The menus were sleek, edged in gold with thick black font. They discussed what they wanted to eat and how best to go with the starters and dessert. There was no way they couldn't get both, after all.

The waitress returned. They placed their order.

Eren fidgeted in his seat, looking like a kid in a candy store. He was buzzing with excitement and his green eyes kept darting around taking it all in as other couples chattered quietly around them. Levi was too enamoured at the sight of his lover that all he could do was smile.

This was what he wanted. Right here and now, this was what he wanted his life to be about; exploring new things with Eren, watching the kid smile so brightly and admire wondrous things around him. Enjoying the gentle buzz of energy that constantly drifted off his body in waves. Feeling him curl around Levi in the dead of night as they slept, his head nestling against the older man's chest.

The box felt like it suddenly weighed a ton in his pocket.

Perhaps this was the time, before their table was cluttered with plates?

Swallowing thickly he dug the box out of his pocket and held it in his lap under the table. Clearing his throat he drew Eren's attention to him. God, he looked beautiful. Straightening himself in the chair, he looked across the table and tried to exude some sort of confidence.

"Eren," he began, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sounds serious," Eren grinned brightly. "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Levi tried to force the words. "These last nine months have been nothing short of an adventure for us. Me especially. You've opened my eyes and world up to a brand new experience; love. Romance. Being happy. Before you, I hadn't felt those things for years. I'm almost convinced I hadn't felt them at all, until you."

Eren's expression softened, his eyes sparkling.

"You make my week worth working through. Everything feels happier when you're around. I –"

"Here are your starters!" the waitress chimed.

Levi wanted to both curse her and kiss her. Grinding his jaw together, he shot her a somewhat subdued glare before making more space for the two plates. When she left, Levi let out a long sigh and tried to calm his irritation down.

Eren tried to bite back a smile. "So, you were saying?" he asked, biting on his lower lip.

Levi glanced down at the food, the box heavy in his clammy palms. This was the first time he was nervous in a long, long time. "I think it can wait," he finally said forcing a small smile.

Eren's expression drooped a little. "Are you sure? Whatever it is I don't mind."

Levi adopted a much brighter expression. "No, no, it can wait. Let's eat this food before it gets cold. I don't think either of us can afford to come here for the next ten years so we might as well make the most of it."

"It does look amazing!" Eren agreed, seemingly distracted. "And these are just the starters!"

Levi breathed a sigh of relief.

For the next hour and a half they ate the food that was brought to them.

It was only in the interval between their second course –yes, they needed to eat as much of the cuisine as possible –and their dessert that Levi felt the swell of courage burning up in his chest again. Maybe it was indigestion. Either way, he was going to take a shot with asking.

"Eren, you remember earlier that I had something I wanted to ask you?"

Eren frowned and then beamed. "Yes! What was it you wanted to ask me?" He raised the wine glass and took a sip.

Suddenly, all words failed Levi.

Slowly, very slowly, he placed the black velvet box on the table and slid it across to Eren. Green eyes widened comically. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Levi may have chuckled. However, his heart was lodged in his throat.

Eren stared down at the box. His insides were knotting over and over again, playing havoc with the huge meal he'd just eaten. Plus, there was dessert on the way. Oh God, what was happening? A velvet box generally only meant one thing; was that really a step they were ready to take? He felt overly flushed and he was curious about what was inside however at the same time he was terrified of opening the box. Not because he didn't love Levi, because he did. However, he ached to know.

"Levi …" he breathed, his arms frozen. He couldn't reach out for the box, as much as he wanted to.

A tremor ran down his spine.

Reaching out, he took the box in his hand and slid it closer. His stomach flipped. He tried to focus on breathing.

"Levi … are you sure about this?"

Levi's face was a blank mask as usual but his eyes were flooded with concern. It made Eren's heart skip a beat, seeing the older man so vulnerable. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled.

"More sure than I've been about anything."

Eren took the box in both hands, breathing hard and pried the lid open. He gasped, nearly choking as he stared down at the contents. With quaking fingers he reached in and lifted up the key in a questioning manner.

"I … I don't understand."

"Eren," Levi said, looking his square in the eye. "Will you move-in with me?"

* * *

 **A/N: I would say I'm sorry for no real holiday events / stories but in my current frame of mind I just couldn't hack it. So I put this smush together instead. What do you guys think?**


	29. Chapter 28

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

 **Warning: SEXUAL CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER!**

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

 _"Will you move-in with me?"_

The words rung in Eren's ears. The velvet box seemed to itch at his skin as his palm grew clammy. He suddenly felt flushed. He hadn't been expecting this at all. His heart had stopped when he'd seen the box, thinking that Levi was going to propose. However, in hind-sight maybe the box was a little too big for a ring?

Regardless, what Levi was asking was still pretty big.

' _We've only been dating for a few months!_ ' he panicked.

He didn't have any experience with this, didn't know the protocol. Was he rushing into this? His dad would certainly think so. He'd claim this was Levi's plan all along. However, Eren knew just how stubborn and private the ex-soldier was.

Would it be worth asking Mikasa? She was older and had definitely had more experience in the boyfriend department than he had. It wasn't even like he'd be moving that far away, not really.

Suddenly, he became aware that he hadn't said anything.

Standing abruptly he babbled, "Sorry, I just need the bathroom!"

Levi quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't comment. His expression was oddly calm as he watched Eren's retreating back weave through tables towards the men's' room.

Once safely locked away in a cubicle, Eren dialled Mikasa's number. She answered on the third ring. " _Can't you go through one date without ringing me? You're gonna give this guy the wrong impression of me_."

"Yeah no time for that. I'm sending you a picture."

There was a sigh and then a pause as Eren waited for the picture to send.

" _Holy shit_."

"What do I do?"

" _Holy shit!_ "

"Mika –"

" _Eren holy shit that's a KEY! Did he ask you to move in with him?_ "

"No shit, why do you think I'm calling?!"

" _So what did you say?_ "

"That I needed to go to the bathroom."

Silence.

" _Eren you're a fucking moron!_ "

"I didn't call you to get my arse handed to me," he groused.

" _No, but you left that poor man out there staring at your empty seat, wondering if you're sneaking out the bloody window!_ "

Eren rolled his eyes. "Levi knows I'm not like that."

" _I'd still be pretty miffed if my date legged it to the bathroom after an IMPORTANT QUESTION!_ "

"I just … isn't this too fast?"

" _Does it feel fast?_ "

"I … well … a little. Sometimes. It also feels natural. Like delaying good things is pointless if I'm going to still be with him anyway."

" _So why did you need to call me?_ "

Eren chewed his bottom lip. "I'm worried about what mum and dad would say."

" _Mum will be happy. Anxious but happy. Dad is –it's gonna take some time, Eren_."

Eren pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that, it wasn't a surprise. His heart hammered in his chest. If he said 'yes' to what Levi was asking, it meant he was going to have to uproot his entire life. They'd experience one another on a whole new level. He had never had that level of intimacy before and, judging from what he'd been told, neither had Levi. Yet, he thought Eren was worth taking that risk?

He felt a tremor run through him.

Was he ready to have Levi come home from a bad day at work and throw his things at the table and demand to be left alone?

Was he ready to have Levi witness what an awful specimen of humanity he became when he had a really bad head-cold?

Did he want to have to hear Levi throwing up after a hard night drinking with Farlan?

Was he ready to have every Friday night dedicated to eating Chinese and drinking cheap beer with Levi's work colleagues?

Did he really wanted Ms. Zoe to be part of his life beyond University?

Yes, he realised. He wanted all of that.

Drawing in a deep breath he was vaguely aware of the phone growing sweaty against his ear, Mikasa calling his name repeatedly to gain his attention.

"Oh sorry Mika … I should probably go."

" _Yeah you probably should!_ "

Ending the call, he pocketed the phone and walked out of the cubicle. He washed his hands even though he hadn't used the facilities. Looking up at his reflection, he swallowed thickly and tried to calm himself down. He looked at the box again, smoothing his thumb over the velvet. This was a huge step. He was going to be moving-out of his family home. Starting a whole new adventure with someone he'd known for only nine months.

This was big.

' _You know the answer either way,_ ' he thought as he braced himself against the sink. ' _You've never felt this way about anyone. This is all new to you. Levi has had relationships before but you're the only one he's wanted to share his personal space with. Embrace how vulnerable he's making himself –and you've run off to hide in the fucking toilets!_ '

Damn, even his brain was starting to sound like Mikasa.

Swiping the box off the side, he held it tightly as he made his way outside.

.

.

To his credit, if Levi was panicking he didn't show it.

If anything, he looked ever-so-slightly concerned –the sort of expression most other people would wear when debating on taking an umbrella or not even though it was grey outside.

"Sorry about that," Eren gushed as he sank back into his vacant seat.

Levi's eyebrows rose. Otherwise his expression didn't change.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

Eren nodded, taking an extra-long sip of his wine. "Yeah I'm fine. Really," he added at Levi's disbelieving stare. "I just needed to take a minute and … and … not over-react?"

"So you ran into the bathroom."

Eren felt his shoulder's sag. "… Yeah."

To his surprise, Levi smirked. "You're lucky I know you by now, Eren."

"So you're not mad?" he asked, squirming in his seat.

"Of course not. Eren, I've just landed a pretty big life decision in your lap. If you need to run into the bathroom to handle it, I'm more than happy to wait." He reached out and placed a hand over Eren's, the one still clasped around the box. "We'll only take this step if you're ready. I want to build a proper life with you. I want to wake up every morning and see you there, bundled up and drooling on my pillow. I want to come home from a shitty day at work to see you in a t-shirt and socks just chilling and ready to shoot a smile my way. I want to take care of you when you get sick and have your mother over for brunch on the weekends. I want to beat your friends at game-night because we would destroy them."

He paused, aware that for the first time in a long time, he was doing the unthinkable; he was rambling. Clearing his throat he straightened up a little. "I want you to move-in with me, Eren. I love you."

Eren felt his eyes mist over.

"Are you sure you won't change your mind?" he asked, his nerves in a tight bundle at the back of his throat.

"I've never been more sure than anything."

Looking up into those slate grey eyes, Eren was grateful to be sitting own otherwise his knees would have given out. He stroked the box in his hand and finally pried the lid open. The key was bright gold and had an ornate letter 'E' engraved in the top. This wasn't just an ordinary copy of the key, this was _his_ key. His first, personalised, key to their house. Their _home_.

Butterflies exploded in his stomach.

"I'd love to live with you," he breathed.

Levi's eyebrows rose even higher. "You really mean that?" he asked just as quietly.

Eren nodded, breathing hard. He didn't want to shatter their little bubble but he was buzzing with too much energy. The glasses twinkled as his knee jerked. He inwardly cursed himself.

"I want to live with you, Levi. I don't think anything could make me happier!"

Without warning Levi stood up. He strode around the table, grasped Eren's face in his hands and pressed a hot, desperate kiss to his lips.

"Thank … God … You … Said … Yes!" he grunted between kisses.

Eren's cheeks went bright red, especially as the nearest tables to them started clapping. Wrong idea of the situation but sweet nonetheless. Plus, Eren really wasn't about to turn down the complimentary cake that arrived after their meal.

.

.

Eren fidgeted most of the way home.

He just wanted to reach across and touch Levi all over. He wanted to pop every button of his pressed white shirt and run his hands over his smooth skin. He wanted to kiss along every tattoo on his body, and stroke his fingertips over the bullet scars. He wanted Levi to make love to him in _their_ home in _their_ bed and then he could fall asleep in the knowledge that he didn't have to leave ever again.

It had never taken so long to get home.

By the time they were standing outside Levi's front door, Eren just wanted to get inside already, but Levi insisted that if they were going to do this properly, then they needed to christen the key.

Biting back any retorts, and actually feeling somewhat sentimental himself, Eren slid the key into the lock and twisted. It was a little stiff but the mechanism clicked and the door opened without much protest.

His heart skipped a beat, looking in at that familiar home. _His_ home.

He barely had time to think about it before he was pushed up against the wall, Levi's fiery mouth against his. He moaned into the kiss, shrugging out of his light jacket. Together they awkwardly moved towards the bedroom and slumped down onto the bed with barely any injury. He threaded his fingers through Levi's hair, barely daring to come-up for air as they rutted on the sheets.

"God, you're so gorgeous!" Levi exhaled heatedly against his throat as he popped Eren's button one-by-one through the holes. "I'm so lucky to have you."

The words caught Eren off-guard.

Levi, sensing his sudden stillness, propped himself upright so that he could gaze down at his lover.

"I love you, Levi," Eren breathed, his chest heaving.

Pulling his shirt off over his head, the older man melted their bodies together, his cool hands running up the back of Eren's shirt and lightly scratching his skin. Eren hissed and arched into him, his insides burning with desire, his cock already hard and pressing against his trousers. Levi was hard, too. He could feel their dicks rubbing together through their trousers, the burn almost too intense.

"Levi …" Eren panted, his eyes rolling back in his head. "Levi p-please … make love to me!"

The older man didn't need telling twice.

He took great care with Eren; he made sure every inch of him was kissed tenderly, his hands barely straying for a moment as he smoothed the clothes off his skin and took hold of his cock. He kissed the young man slowly, deeply, stealing his breath away every chance he got. He took great pleasure in swallowing him whole, making him squirm and grow flustered.

He was careful and slow when he slid inside his body.

He tried to restrain himself from going too fast until Eren begged him shamelessly for more.

He left a love-bite on Eren's shin from where his legs were wrapped around his neck.

Spots flashed before his eyes as he finally came hot and heavy in his young lover, filling his body with every angled thrust.

His orgasm was just shuddering to a stop when Eren came over his stomach, crying his name out and clenching tight around his cock.

It was bliss.

.

.

Later that night, once they were cleaned up and lazily lounging in the bed, the smell of sex still clinging to the duvet, Eren rolled over onto his back to peer up at his lover. He was sitting upright on his pillows, reading with his glasses perched on his nose. He had idly been kneading Eren's thighs and buttocks whilst said brat had been watching something inane on TV.

He felt so content.

Levi looked over the top of his book at him and quirked an eyebrow. Eren felt himself smile bashfully in response before shifting around on the bed so that his head was nestled gently on the older man's chest. Levi settled for caressing the young man's thick, brunette hair as he returned his attention to his book.

"Hey Levi?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you want me to live with you?"

"Of course I do, kid," Levi murmured, not taking his eyes off the book. "I wouldn't have asked you otherwise."

"I know but …" Eren trailed off, his fingers skirting the skin peeking out from Levi's waistband.

Sensing that the kid was stalling on purpose, Levi jostled him slightly. "But what?"

"I … I don't have a job."

"I'm aware."

"I don't want you to think I'm selfish or something."

Levi frowned and closed his book at last. He shifted slightly so that he could look at Eren better. The younger man was avoiding eye-contact, instead finding the plain duvet cover exceptionally interesting.

"What's brought this on?" Levi asked.

"I … I don't have a job, which means I don't have any income," Eren sighed. "I don't want you to feel like I'm taking you for granted."

"You mean like a trophy-wife?"

"Yeah, sort of."

Levi chuckled deeply, "Eren I'm aware you don't have a job right now. That doesn't mean you can't look for one."

"So … you don't mind being the one who pays?"

Levi shook his head. "Of course not. Truth is, I can afford two houses and two vehicles on my salary so yes, I don't think a little extra on the electric bill, gas or food is going to bother me much."

"But what if it does?" Eren asked urgently. "Then I'm going to feel like a scrounger!"

Levi sighed. He could see how disheartened Eren was feeling about this. Despite his currently employment status –none –Levi wasn't about to kick him out and take his key back out of spite. "How about this?" he finally said, tilting Eren's chin up so that they were seeing eye-to-eye. "We can look at jobs for you in town, but until we find you something permanent, I can ask Erwin if he'd be willing to give you a trial run as a T.A."

Eren's head snapped up. "What? A-are you sure?"

"Why not? You're fresh out of Uni, Erwin likes you and we always seemed to be understaffed right at the start of term."

Eren bit down on his lip. "But Erwin knows we're … you know … together."

"I'm aware," Levi stated. "However, as long as we keep it professional at work I doubt there would be any real issues."

Intrigued, Eren sat up straighter. "So what department would I be assisting in?"

"Logically, whichever place needs the most support. The art departments generally need at least three T.A.'s otherwise they'd never stay open. However, more and more departments are increasing the work loads, so you could well end up anywhere."

Eren frowned in thought. It wasn't the worst job he could do and he'd get to see something of Levi during the day. Even if it was only for a few days a week and only until Christmas. An idea went off in his head.

"I could also ask Ms. Zoe about assisting her with her lessons," Eren suggested. "She always complained about never having any help. Do you think they'd consider me? Considering I just left the place?"

"It's worth asking," Levi agreed. "I'll ask Erwin first thing on Monday. See what he thinks."

Eren smiled. "I'll start looking for other jobs in town, as well. I know I can't rely on a lot of things when it comes to jobs. I've heard enough horror stories about people who never get interviews."

Levi scoffed. "The ones who complain are generally the ones who don't want the job in the first place. They'd just rather blame immigrants or the government for not having two brain cells to rub together to perform the simplest tasks."

Eren laughed. "God! I love how grumpy you get. It's so sexy!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a brat."

"I love it when you call me 'brat'."

"You shouldn't. It's not a term of endearment," Levi stated, returning to his book in a matter-of-fact way.

Grinning, Eren pressed his face against his lover's neck. "It is when you say it."

Levi rolled his eyes but couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Eren pressed a kiss to his cheek and then sank back down into the pillows. He sighed contently before frowning again. "Hey Levi?"

"Hmmm?"

"You know … I thought you were going to propose to me tonight."

"Yes, I sort of got that impression."

Eren smiled fleetingly. "Well … um … Have you ever wanted to get married? Have a family?"

Setting his book down, Levi turned his full attention to the squirming young man beside him. "Honestly?" Eren nodded. "No. I've not really given it much thought. For some people these things are easy, natural. Look at Farlan and Issy. I didn't see that sort of life for me. I didn't like anyone well enough to be in my space."

"So what makes me so special?"

"You're one of a kind, kid."

Eren huffed. "I wanted a _real_ answer, Levi!"

The older man smiled as he watched Eren cross his arms and look off towards the window. Reaching out, he turned Eren's face towards his. "There isn't any one reason, kid. Despite your quirks, you bring a chaotic sense of calm to my life."

"And that's a good thing?!" the brunette asked incredulously.

Levi nodded. "Of course; my life was nothing but order, routine and work. Even seeing friends was part of a routine. You disarm in ways that I cannot describe. You make me feel like it's okay if I don't scrub the kitchen top-to-bottom every day. You make it tolerable to even think about sleeping naked. You break my cycle and routine up in such a way that it reminds me … life doesn't have to be rigid and colourless. It can be fun and childish, even if that means building a blanket fort in my living room."

Eren smiled at the memory.

"It isn't any one thing, Eren. It's a thousand little things. I don't give a shit if we get married or adopt some snot-nosed little brat from the North Pole. I want to spend my life, however it may turn out, no matter what direction it leads me, with you."

Green eyes glazed over. "You … Damnit, that's not fair!" Eren cupped his face in his hands. "You're a teacher! You're not allowed to use advanced knowledge to get all sappy on me!"

Levi chuckled. "You'll learn one day, kid. I'm the romantic in this relationship."

Eren pouted childishly as Levi resumed his position, once against picking his book up.

The covers rustled as Eren fidgeted beside him and burrowed down under the covers to sleep.

"Hey Levi?"

A sigh. "What, brat?"

"You know that thing you said about sleeping naked?"

"Yes? What of it?"

In answer, Eren drew one of Levi's hands under the covers and smoothed it over his bare thigh.

"You sly little shit!"

Levi tossed his book onto the bedside table and rolled on top of Eren, his mouth quickly snagging his lover's in a greedy kiss. Eren chuckled as he clawed Levi's bottoms off. "Mmmm I couldn't help it! You look so sexy with your glasses on!"

Levi growled against Eren's throat and felt his stomach flip. Eren was rock hard and already slick with pre-cum. Once freed from his bottoms, Levi felt his own dick and shuddered; he was just as hard and just as wet.

"You think your tight little arse can take another go?" he growled.

Eren bit back a smile and nodded. "Yes!" Levi was just about to take off his glasses when Eren caught his wrists. "No! God, please, leave them on?"

"You want to get fucked by a teacher?" Levi asked, quirking an eyebrow.

A mischievous Eren bit his lip and nodded. "Yes, sir."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry for the late update. My partner has had some medical complications over the weekend. He's all fine now, it was just a bit of a scare. I would have updated sooner but it's been one hell of a week! :( x**


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

 **Monday**

.

.

The last week of September dawned upon them just in time for Eren to move-in with Levi.

It was an odd experience, dragging a ton of boxes in the car whenever he got a chance on the weekend. He didn't think he'd had that much crap but apparently young men collected a magnitude of nerdy, inconsequential tat that needed to be sorted through. He was surprised Mikasa didn't come in with a blow-torch to set the books alight. During the week Eren had taken full advantage of his key and, with Levi's permission, had started to make some space for the furniture he knew he'd have to bring.

The first Monday Levi had been a little disturbed to see his living quarters being rearranged. He knew it was bound to happen but it still bothered him. It took Eren walking him through everything and explaining why it made sense, for him to accept the new positions. That evening they had browsed furniture so that Eren would have more storage space in the bedroom. They turned the second, smaller bedroom into a proper little office so that Levi wouldn't ' _ruin his back_ ' at the dining room table.

The furniture had arrived on the Saturday and they'd spent the day with Farlan setting it up, whilst Issy yelled instructions from the manual.

It felt like it all happened so fast.

Staring in at the blue painted walls and the single bed pushed up into the far corner of the room, Eren suddenly felt like an intruder to his old life. He was a young man yet everything about that bedroom was screaming 'pre-teen!' to him. He still had his oldest band poster's tacked up alongside his bed, an old stereo on his desk along with a CD rack and a bookshelf crammed with all his old favourites. He didn't need to take any of those to Levi's house.

Their house.

It was part of a life that he was partially leaving behind. Eventually his mum would either donate them or box them up and put them in the attic. Maybe after Christmas.

Running a hand over the old wood of his desk, Eren let out a sigh. There were so many memories in this room; the sleepover's he'd had with Armin and Mika watching horror movies well past their bed times, that time when he was twelve and had a girl -Chloe or something -in his room and had nearly kissed her but chickened out at the last minute. The time he'd beaten Jean at last at Rocket League.

There were still photo's pinned on his noticeboard; faded and discoloured, the corners slightly curling, but still there. He smiled thinly, smoothing a thumb over the images.

On the bed there were two boxes. The last two boxes he would be taking back to his new home. Maybe one day he would come back for the rest and find a space for them but not right now. For now they would remain here, locked in the bubble of nostalgia in his childhood bedroom. Stacking the two boxes, one on top of the other, Eren lifted them up and walked out of his bedroom. Edging his way across the landing he made his way to the top of the staircase and began to descend carefully.

Levi and Carla were having tea in the kitchen.

It was still surprising when Eren saw them talking so amicably with one another. He was merely glad that one of his parents like his boyfriend.

Upon catching sight of Eren in the doorway, Levi turned and smirked up at the younger man. "Done already?" he asked, eyeing the two stacked boxes. He sipped his tea.

Eren nodded, "This is it. Anything else isn't detrimental."

Carla sighed softly with a smile. "Well I hope I get invited over for dinner once you've settled in properly."

"Of course, mother!" Eren rolled his eyes.

Levi chuckled, "You're more than welcome, Carla. It really is quite different with all of Eren's ... belongings, lying around. _I_ hardly recognise the place."

"Eren," Carla warned teasingly. "Are you messing up Levi's home?"

Eren's mouth dropped open. "Why do you two always gang-up on me when you get together?" he protested.

Levi smirked, "Your reactions are too fun not to."

"Mean."

Carla grinned. "Now I see why you call him 'brat'."

"Hey!" Eren protested, "That says more about your parenting style than it does about me!"

"Hmm true," Carla sipped her tea thoughtfully before shrugging. "We'll blame your father! Case closed."

Levi snickered as he drank his tea. Eren rolled his eyes but wasn't able to hold back his smile. Draining the last of his tea, Levi stood up and grabbed his car keys from the table. "Thank you for the tea, Carla. We'll have a proper house-warming party at the end of the month."

"Just try not to forget about me!" she moaned comically.

Eren felt his cheeks flush as Levi chuckled.

They made their way towards the front door. Carla saw them out and waved from the front door as Levi backed out of the driveway and onto the main road.

 **Friday PM**

Eren was stretched out along the sofa and reading through one of the 'vampire beach' saga, when a knock came from the front door. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he frowned. It was too early for Levi to be home. Rolling off the sofa, he padded to the front door and peered through the peep-hole. He saw a tuft of red hair on the other side.

He beckoned Isabel in as soon as he opened the door. "What're you doing? Aren't you meant to be on bed rest?" he asked, closing the door.

"Eurgh!" Isabel grunted as she waddled into the hallway, cradling her swollen stomach. "Shut up you. I didn't drag this dump all the way here just to get a lecture from you."

Eren held his hands up in surrender. "Well what can I say? I don't want to be blamed for you getting pregnant mess all over the floor?"

Isabel cocked an eyebrow. "Pregnant mess?"

"Levi's words, not mine."

Rolling her eyes, Isabel made her way into the living room and settled on the sofa. "That man needs to read any of the childcare books Farlan bought him."

Eren sat in the armchair beside her. "Yeah well … it makes him uncomfortable."

Stretching her legs out, Isabel sighed. "I cannot wait for my due date. This kid had better be really damn cute."

Eren's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You getting a bit edgy?"

"Just a bit. Farlan is running around like a headless chicken and making sure we have everything and all I can do is watch box-sets and plod around my flat. It's boring!"

"You know I live here too," Eren stated. "It's not a huge effort for me to walk down the hall."

She shot him a glare.

"Tea?"

"Please."

Eren escaped to the kitchen and tried to take his time preparing two mugs of tea. Since living with Levi he'd gotten into the habit of having at least three cups a day. Carrying the two mugs into the living room, he handed one to Isabel before reclining back in the armchair. The redhead sipped at her tea, her large brown eyes roaming around the room.

"It's cosier in here," she remarked. "Feels more like a home."

"Really?"

He looked around at the living room; moving his own things in had taken most of the month and it took almost every other evening to organise everything on the way that would suit them both. For example, Eren had brought two brightly coloured beanbag chairs that sat happily in the corner until company came over. Accompanied with the thick throw blanket from his bed slung over the back of the sofa, and a few stand-up photo-frames propped up on the once barren shelves, he had to concede that it did indeed feel more 'homely'.

"So is Levi okay with all these changes?" Isabel teased as she sipped at her tea.

Eren nodded, "He was very tetchy at first."

"I can imagine! He really doesn't like it when people touch his stuff. It was one of the reasons his past relationships didn't last long."

Eren made a non-committal noise.

"So how has it been living here?"

"It's been good. Still need to find a job though, but Erwin said if I like, I can come to the school first thing Monday. Even if it's temporary it would be nice not to feel like a sponge."

"I'm sure Levi doesn't mind," Isabel placated. "Trust me, he has the money saved up. He doesn't mind."

"It's more for me," the young man shrugged. "I can't just do nothing. Even if I teach as a teaching assistant or something for a year, it'll help me get on my feet."

Isabel nodded in agreement. "That's true. I hate that I'm on maternity leave. I do miss my job and seeing other people during the day. Being at home gets so boring!"

"Well you know where I am. Just bang on the walls and I'll come running with some tea!"

"And ice cream?"

"Well of course! What am I?"

Isabel cackled, nearly spilling her tea. She winced, her hand shooting up to caress her stomach.

Eren was on his feet. "Are you okay? Shit, do I need to call an ambulance?"

Isabel waved him off. "No, no. It's just a kick." She exhaled heavily and set her mug down, choosing instead to rub her hands gently over her stomach. "Jesus I can't wait until this kid is out of me. I hate feeling so swollen and heavy. It's a wonder Farlan even wants to have sex with me anymore."

Eren choked on air, his eyes wide. "Isabel!"

"What? You do realise I got laid to get this baby in here, right?" she stated blandly. "It didn't just get posted through my vagina."

"Jesus Christ!" Eren jumped away from the sofa, hands clamped over his ears. "Must you be so explicit?!"

"You live with Levi. I can _hear_ you two when you fuck."

Turning slowly, Eren tried to see if she was exaggerating. After-all, there were two doors between their flat and Isabel's. His insides squirmed. He never really needed to think about the neighbours.

Isabel started to laugh. "Oh you should see your face!"

Eren was about to retort when the sound of a key in the lock stopped him.

Moments later, Levi walked into the living-room looking a little dishevelled from work, which really only meant he'd taken off his tie and had rolled up his sleeves, and cocked an eyebrow at Isabel. "I take it she's not in labour?" he asked drily.

Eren shook his head as he padded over to the older man, "I want to say 'I wish' but I feel like it's a little harsh."

"Hm," Levi turned his full attention to Eren and smirked. "Hello beautiful."

"Hello handsome." Eren dipped his head so they he could steal a slow, tender kiss from the older man. "Do you want some tea?"

"I'd love some."

Whilst Eren ducked back into the kitchen, Levi went over to his sofa and swatted Isabel's legs. She pulled a face but shifted over so that there was room for him to sit down.

"Aren't you meant to be on bed rest?" he remarked.

"I was bored."

Rolling his eyes, Levi patted his lap. "Up here."

Isabel him a doting look before dragging her feet back into his lap. Levi mentally thanked whatever God was out there for one, giving him strength and two, for Isabel having worn socks, before he started to massage her feet. Even with lack of movement her ankles and feet had become swollen and painful. He may not do much by way of helping prepare for the baby itself, however he couldn't let his best friend suffer entirely.

"Oh! That feels so good!"

"Careful now," Levi warned. "You'll make Eren jealous with noises like that."

"She claims to have heard worse from us," Eren interjected as he came back into the living room and placed Levi's mug of tea on the coffee table.

"Is that so?"

"Oh, you're not that bad," Isabel stated before shooting a mischievous grin over at Eren. " _He's_ the one who could bring the roof down the way he goes on begging you."

Eren's cheeks went red.

Levi chuckled. "You're a wicked woman."

"You wouldn't have me any other way."

"I'd have you out of my flat, but I don't get everything I want."

Isabel stuck her tongue out. Levi tickled her feet in retaliation.

Once settled, Eren shifted so that he was sat on the floor next to Levi's legs. "So when exactly are you due?" he asked, eyeing the swollen stomach with apprehension.

"In about three weeks or so." Isabel sighed. "It already feels like a lifetime away."

"I wouldn't complain if I were you," Levi stated as he reclined back against the sofa. "You'll miss peace and quiet once that little thing arrives, squawking it's lungs out."

"I'm giving birth to a child not a hippogriff!"

"Eurgh!" Levi scowled. "I hate that I actually get that reference now!"

Eren couldn't help but laugh along with Isabel. Levi leaned over and swatted him upside the head. "Hey!" he whined. "What was that for?"

"For ruining my brain!"

Eren rolled his eyes, "Hey now, if you're allowed to lecture me about maths and science and all that other rubbish, then I'm allowed to lecture you about Harry Potter. It's only fair, _darling_."

"Okay boys, I think I should plod home. It won't do me any favours for Farlan to see I've left the nest."

Eren helped Isabel off the sofa before walking her to the front door. "If you need me just text me or something okay?"

"Thanks love, I will."

He watched until she was safely inside her own door before retreating inside his own flat. Levi hadn't moved from his spot on the sofa. "So is the Chinese off tonight?" he asked.

Levi nodded, running a hand down his face. "Erwin's got an after-school meeting and Farlan doesn't like to leave Issy alone. Can't say I blame him, really."

"Would you be that over-protective with your own children?" Eren asked. It was only a moment afterwards that he realised what he'd said. "I didn't … I mean … shit!"

Levi gave him a wan smile and patted the sofa beside him. Eren hesitated before shifting across the room. He sank down into the cushions and felt his insides twist as Levi entwined their fingers. Looking into his lover's clear, grey eyes, Eren swallowed thickly and waited for someone to say something, anything that would break the silence.

"Eren, I need to ask you something. Maybe I should have done this before asking you to move-in with me but in all honesty, it didn't cross my mind."

"Oh um … okay."

"Do you want to have children?"

"I –what?"

"Do you want to have children at some point in the future?"

Eren felt his mouth work soundlessly. His mind was blank. He'd just been happy to be living with the man he loved. The most pressing matter on his mind had been finding a job to help Levi financially. He hadn't really been thinking beyond that point.

"I … I don't know. I've not really thought about it. I mean I'm only twenty-one."

"Hm," Levi said. "I didn't really think of it at that age either. Not really."

"Did you ever think that you would want to?"

Levi shook his head slowly. "I don't think I did. I found it hard enough to cope with a relationship. I suppose I felt as though I couldn't have one without the other. In a way, I suppose, I was right."

"Do you think … that's changed? Or …?"

"I don't think so." He sighed, squeezing Eren's hand tighter. "If you want to have children I don't want to be the reason that holds you back. You're still young, you can have that life if you choose to."

Eren was baffled. He gaped at Levi in an incredulous manner. "Are you trying to break up with me?"

"Of course not," Levi sighed. "I just want you to know that I may never change my mind. If you were to decide that you wanted children, I may not be the man by your side when that dream comes true for you."

"Levi," Eren began, shifting in his seat. He squeezed the strong hands in his own. "It's barely been a thought in my mind, if at all. All I know is that I love you and want to be with you. Living with you is a dream come true. I … I don't want to give you or any of this up, for a baby I don't even think I want."

Levi didn't look convinced. His grey eyes swam with insecurities. "I'd never be able to forgive myself if I let you down like that."

"You're being ridiculous!" Eren protested. "Levi, you couldn't possibly let me down, okay? Now can we please just stop talking about this?"

Nodding, the older man dropped his head back on the sofa. "I'm sorry I brought it up. It just came into my mind that it might be something you'd want for yourself. I didn't want you to miss out."

"Levi there's hundreds of things I would miss out on, if we were to bring a child into our lives."

"Like what?"

"Exotic holidays. Going to a nude beach. Walking around the house naked. Racing on a dirt-track. None of these things can really be done with a baby hanging around."

"No," Levi mused. "I suppose not."

"Can we stop this nonsense?"

"Sure. Let me just go and get changed."

"I'll help you."

Smoothing his hands over the older man's pale shoulders, Eren lowered his head and whispered, "I want to make love to you."

Levi felt a shiver run down his spine.

They'd made love many a time, in many positions all around the flat. However, they'd never switched positions before. Despite how uncertain he felt about the prospect, he could feel the anxious energy thrumming off his lover. It vibrated through the air and settled deep within his bones.

"Are you sure? I don't mind going on top," he purred, letting his fingers skim over Eren's body. He'd practically memorised the younger man by this point, but it was still arousing to feel his hot skin underneath his palm.

Pressing a kiss to Levi's throat, Eren shook his head. "No. I want to be inside you. I want to make sure you know just how much I love and need you."

The words made Levi's stomach flip.

His shirt was already on the floor. He unfastened his belt and let his trousers slip down over his hips. Eren peeled off his own shirt and wasted no time in initiating a kiss, his strong arms pressing Levi back onto the bed, easing their bodies down so that Eren was on top of him.

Tangling his fingers in Eren's thick hair as he worked hungry kisses over his over's body, Levi thrust his hips up in a silent plea.

He almost cried out when he felt the slick, wet heat of Eren's mouth swallowing him down.

Eren released him a few minutes later with a wet 'pop'.

His cheeks were flushed and his hair was a brown mess on his head. His green eyes were hungry as he leered over Levi. "God, you're so hot! I want you so badly!"

"Do you want to prep me or should I?"

"I … I want to watch you do it," Eren growled huskily.

Levi's eyebrows rose in surprise but he complied nonetheless as he slid his boxers off.

Eren grabbed the lube from the bedside drawer and lowered himself between Levi's legs so he could watch the man finger himself. He didn't know why it was so arousing watching the older man slide a long digit inside himself. The memory of it happening to him probably helped. He remembered how it felt to have Levi stretching his arsehole, how it felt to be stretched and how hooking the fingers in a certain way would hit a sweet spot.

"Ohhh!"

Eren's dick twitched as Levi moaned, sliding another finger inside himself and picking up the pace. Eren touched his throbbing dick but had to stop within seconds. This was too sexy to watch, if he wasn't careful he'd come all over the duvet. He couldn't do that. He needed to be inside Levi.

Levi half-rolled onto his side, cocking a leg up and continuing to slide in and out.

Eren took the lube and applied some to his dick. Standing over Levi, he gently took the older man's wrists and turned him fully onto his back. "How do you want to do this?" he growled.

' _Make it quick!_ ' went unspoken.

Shifting into a sitting position, Levi motioned for Eren to sit down too.

Propped up against the headboard, Eren almost whimpered as a very naked Levi straddled his hips. "Are you ready?" the older man grunted, bracing himself against the headboard.

Eren nodded.

He wasn't prepared for how tight Levi would be.

Letting out a long moan, he tried to control himself as he scrunched his face up as Levi teased his arse with the tip of Eren's dick.

It couldn't be rushed.

It couldn't be rushed.

It couldn't be rushed.

Eren hated that he couldn't just do as he pleased. He was teetering on the edge of an orgasm already but –

Levi sank down into his lap, sliding Eren completely inside him.

Hot … Tight … Wet … Fuck!

"Eren?" Levi panted.

"Hmmmgh?"

"Do you want me to move?"

"Mhm!"

Levi moved his hips, slowly at first but it soon became apparent that neither man could control themselves. As he gyrated against Eren's dick, fucking himself shamelessly, Eren had dug his nails deep into Levi's flesh and was thrusting into the older man's body with reckless abandon.

They were both panting, sweat, trying to hold-out and make it last longer.

"Eren –fuck yes, right there!" Levi moaned. "Are you gonna come for me, brat?"

"Y-yes! God, Levi I wanna come! I wanna come!"

"Do it, Eren. Come inside me!"

Eren shocked them both as he used the last of his strength to flip their positions. Pinning Levi down against the pillows, he hooked the lithe legs over his shoulders and thrust himself deep inside his lover. Levi moaned and arched his back as Eren hit his prostate over and over again. Reaching down, he grabbed his dick and started to tug.

He came just as Eren panted out, "Fuck –Levi I'm coming!"

Levi was too aroused in that moment to outwardly care about having Eren's cum inside him. He was higher than he'd ever been before. He didn't care that the sheets were messy or that he'd have to get up and clean himself down.

Not in that moment.

All that mattered was that Eren was pressing sweaty kisses all over his face and neck and it felt wonderful.

He barely noticed Eren slip his softening cock out of his arse. He was pleasantly surprised to feel hot, clammy arms wind around him, holding him close.

"You're the love of my life, Levi."

"Love you too k –Eren."

"Do you think Issy heard us?"

Levi rolled his drowsy eyes and hugged Eren's arms tighter around him. "Who gives a shit? We're the only sex-life she has these days."

Eren gave a breathy laugh, pressing a kiss into the crook of Levi's throat. They stayed that way for a few moments before the younger man squirmed away. Levi grunted at the sudden coolness of the air and was suddenly aware of how sticky he felt.

"You stay here," Eren said. "I'll get us cleaned up."

Levi didn't have the heart to argue. He was exhausted.

He must have dozed for a little while because the next thing he knew, Eren was shaking him awake and guided him –naked, barely conscious and clumsy –into the bathroom. It took a few moments for his brain to catch up with everything. When it did, he was stood in the bathroom facing a full bath with bubbles and some tea candles on the shelves and the window sill.

When did he ever own tea candles?

"What's all this?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"It's a bath," Eren stated simply. "I thought that we could have one together."

Never before had anyone cared enough to know what Levi would want after sex.

Eren did.

"You're too good to me, you know that?" Levi said.

"Never too good, Levi. You deserve this." Eren pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Now you get in, I'll be back in a sec."

"Where're you going?" Levi asked with a scowl.

"To strip the bed. I'll be two minutes. Then we can order food in the bath, okay?"

Not waiting for a response, Eren ducked back out of the bathroom.

Levi watched him go, dumbstruck.

He turned back towards the bath and gingerly dipped his fingers into the water. Nice and hot. Eren even knew how he liked his baths and cleanliness. It felt as though he didn't stand a chance. A smile touched his lips.

"Damned brat," he murmured as he stepped into the tub and slowly eased himself down into the water. "Seems I had no choice but to fall in love with him."

Relaxing among the bubbles, Levi allowed himself to feel the pleasure and happiness that swirled inside his head. Those feelings were only escalated when Eren returned and slid awkwardly into the tub beside Levi, his legs cradling the older man between them, and informing his lover that a very delicious Chinese take-away had been ordered for after.

Levi couldn't help but feel blessed as Eren wrapped his strong, soapy arms around his waist.

.

.

Eating Chinese food whilst stretched out over the sofa in their pyjamas was a level of domesticity Levi didn't think he'd ever enjoy with another human being. However, as they watched Eren's latest obsession –'A Series of Unfortunate Events' –on Netflix, he couldn't help but feel completely at peace with himself. True, it still jarred him at early hours of the morning when he saw Eren's bathrobe and towels neatly folded beside his own, but it often left him with a faint smile on his lips as he went about his morning routine.

He had to get used to the patterned mugs in his cupboards and the way Eren liked to collect odd memorabilia and store it on any available surface.

He had his own quirks, he knew that.

He also knew that Eren had been more than accommodating for his strange antics.

Still, seeing that sexy young man stretched out on the sofa and nibbling on his not-so-secret stash of biscuits really was the perfect sight to come home to every night after a long day at work.

By 11pm they were both ready to call it a night.

Levi winced a little as he shifted on the bed, watching as Eren readied himself for bed before slipping under the cool sheets. He sidled up beside Levi and wriggled down so that he could rest his head in the older man's lap. It was almost automatic, the way Levi propped his glasses on his nose and threaded his fingers through Eren's hair.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of this," the young man hummed.

"What's that?" Levi murmured, his mind preoccupied.

"This. It all feels so natural with you. I feel like I've been missing out on this feeling my whole life."

"What feeling's that?"

"Being needed."

Levi scoffed, "It's not a question about needing you, brat. I want you. There's a difference."

"No," Eren shook his head against Levi's thigh. "I know you want me here, same as most other people. They want me for something. You, however, need me."

"Is that so?"

"Mhmm. Who else would make you tea and make sure you relax after a long day?"

"Well I guess that's true."

"Who else would take of you when you're ill?"

"I've not been ill since you've been around," Levi countered.

"Well there's still time for all of that and then who'll be taking care of you? Me, of course."

Chuckling, Levi glanced down at Eren and stroked his thumb down his lover's cheek. "You're right, kid. I do need you."

"See. You need me."

"Yes, I need to you to shut up so I can get to the end of this page."

"Mean!" Eren jostled the book out of Levi's grip and rolled away from the older man, the book clasped to his chest. "Good luck getting this back, you sod!"

Levi fought back a laugh as he watched Eren burrow down under the blankets. Taking his glasses off, he slid over the mattress and poked Eren's butt. "Eren, can I have my book back?"

"No!"

"Eren _please_ can I have my book back?"

"No!"

Levi scowled at the lump under his duvet. "Okay, you asked for it."

"Levi no!"

Eren squealed and bucked uselessly as Levi pinned him down under the blankets and started to tickle him. It was almost too funny, as Eren squirmed and whined through the thick covers. He tried to buck Levi off but the older man was far stronger than him.

Eventually, Levi relented and tore the duvet off of Eren's face. He was red and panting heavily, staring up at the ceiling. From his limp hand Levi snatched his book back.

"Thank you!" he smirked, settling back down on his pillows and picked up from where he left off.

Still panting on the other side of the bed, Eren murmured a breathless, "sod."

Levi could only smirk in response as he resumed his reading.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait between updates but my partner's health concerns are still a priority. Plus I left my memory stick at his house and all the updated versions of my stories were on it :O Anyway I hope you like the update. If there are any questions you want to be answered please leave a review and I will try and answer it in the next chapter! xox**


	31. Chapter 30

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 30**

 _ **October**_

 _ **~0~**_

[8:15] **Wake up beautiful. I left you some breakfast on the counter.**

[8:36] _Levi! It's still night time! Whyyyyy_

[8:41] **Because I love you, tumbleweed.**

[8:46] _Eurgh we need to work on your pet-names_

[8:51] **Get up brat and eat the breakfast I so LOVINGLY made for you.**

[8:54] _Oh yes. I'm feeling that love. Almost like you're hammering through my skull with it._

[8:56] **And all this time you were worried I was the murderous maniac? Tch.**

[9:01] _It's ok. I know you'd only do it out of love … or fear._

[9:04] **Why on earth would I fear you?**

[9:07] _I don't know … I'm taller than you?_

[9:10] **EVERYONE is taller than me, kid. I'm sure even Issy's baby will be taller than me once it's born.**

[9:12] _Can't wait to see THAT day._

[9:15] **So is your Mum still coming down on Friday night?**

[9:18] _Yup. She's driving up with Mikasa._

[9:22] **Good. I'll give the place a clean on Thursday.**

[9:23] _No. Enough with the cleaning! Seriously, I'm starting to just smell bleach wherever I go!_

[9:25] **Stop exaggerating, brat.**

[9:27] _See, the fact that I'm NOT exaggerating, it the scary part._

[9:29] _Levi, they've seen dirt before. They've even lived with me for the better part of their lives._

[9:30] _Trust me when I say that they won't care if the place is a little untidy._

[9:32] **Oh Eren I wish it were that simple.**

[9:33] **Have you even gotten out of bed yet?**

[9:35] _I'm up, I'm up!_

[9:36] **Uh huh. I don't believe you.**

[9:40] _EREN SENT A .JPEG_

[9:41] _See? I'm up!_

[9:42] _Not to mention totally in love with you, I cannot believe you did this for me!_

[9:45] **I wanted you to have a good start to the day and make sure you were properly prepared for that interview with Erwin.**

[9:47] _As much as I'll be shitting myself later about it, this has definitely cheered me up._

[9:50] **Good. Eat up and get yourself ready. Come by my office afterwards. We can have some lunch together.**

[9:52] _You're just … so many wonderful things._

[9:53] **Shut up.**

[9:55] _It's true!_

[9:56] _Wait … I just realised … How are you even texting me right now?_

[9:59] **Two amazing things at the same time; double-period and a pop quiz.**

[10:00] _You're just the worst teacher!_

[10:03] **Yes but you find my rebellious side hot, otherwise you wouldn't be dying to get a job where I can bend you over my desk.**

[10:05] _… I hate you so much._

[10:06] **Sure you do x**

[10:08] _Can you go back to torturing the younger people, please? Let me enjoy my breakfast in peace!_

[10:09] **Fine. Brat.**

[10:11] **You're still coming to my office once you're done with Eyebrows, right?**

[10:12] _Of course I am!_

[10:13] **Good boy.**

.

.

 **Monday AM**

.

Eren shook his head as he set his phone down to one side and promptly dug into the meal before him. Once he was done, he washed the dishes and his mug before grabbing his phone and heading into the bathroom. Levi was right, he needed to take the day as gradually and as stress-free as possible.

He had a shower and made sure to shave the grizzly hairs from his jawline before styling his hair a little. Walking around in just a towel around his waist sent a little thrill down his spine. It was silly but he couldn't imagine Levi ever doing the same.

As soon as he was dressed he made sure he had all the documents and anything else he may need in his bag. Everything was ticked off his mental list and he made a note on his phone to stop off at the shops down the road to grab something to cheer Isabel up. She was closing in on her due date and she was not the nicest person to be around.

Eventually, his watch beeped for 11:30am.

He had half an hour to get to the school so he could meet Erwin in reception.

Slipping into his winter coat and putting on his hat, gloves and scarf, Eren swung his bag over his shoulder and headed out of the flat.

.

.

Erwin was waiting for him in the reception area talking with the woman behind the desk. Eren had a mini panic attack, but a quick glance at the clock on the wall told him that he was fifteen minutes early. Erwin just liked to lounge about in the reception, apparently.

Taking a deep breath, Eren walked in through the glass doors. "Good morning."

Erwin turned and smiled in a professional manner. It was odd how much taller and intimidating he appeared without Levi there to cut him down a size. "Good morning Eren. I see you found the place without any trouble."

"I know I'm a little early but I'm happy to wait until you're ready for me."

Damn it, he was rambling.

"That's okay, I'm free now if you want to come through to my office."

Eren nodded before following the bulking blonde down the hall towards his office. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter. Friends outside of work or not, didn't mean this was going to be a breeze for him. He still needed to be as professional as possible. He shut the door behind him and took the seat Erwin indicated for him.

All of a sudden, Eren felt nerves twist and knot in his stomach.

The interview commenced.

.

.

 **Monday PM**

.

The bell was shrill.

The students looked up from their quiz sheets. They'd been marking their neighbours answered and it wasn't surprising that they all wanted to escape their teacher's wrath. There had been far too many wrong answers already. It was a wonder no one had gotten detention!

As soon as the last student vanished from sight, Levi exhaled loudly and dropped back into his chair. That had seemed like the longest lesson ever. He'd ended it with a pop quiz because he knew that at least seventy percent of his students were playing games on their phones. Suffice to say he was going to be talking down to a lot of parents at the upcoming parents-teacher-evening.

Rubbing his temples, he stood up and packed his things away. He needed to sit in the quiet space of his office. Checking his watch he hummed to himself. If Eren had gotten here on time, chances were he'd be about done with his interview with Eyebrows.

That, at least, gave him something to look forward to.

Just as he was grabbing his sandwiches and drink from the mini-fridge in his office, a knock came at the door.

"I'm on my break!" he snapped.

"Oh good I got the right room."

Levi couldn't help but smirk as Eren closed the door behind him. "Yes, you did. How did it go?" He offered Eren one of the drinks as the younger man sank into the chair across the desk.

"It went okay," Eren shrugged. "I'm having a trial period until Christmas holidays. If nothing else, it's a bit of extra money."

Levi inclined his head, "Well at least he likes you on a professional level."

Eren rolled his eyes. "You can't say that for sure."

"Oh yes I can. I've worked with the man for a decade at least, and I know that if he doesn't like someone he will outright say so. Why do you think Hange wasn't able to get a job at this school?"

Eren snorted some of his Sprite and choked on a laugh. "Oh God! Are you serious?"

"He may well tolerate her oddities in public and they do get along for the most part. Professionally, however? Erwin would sooner set the school on fire."

Eren chuckled. "So, what's for lunch?"

Levi pried off the lids of his neat little containers. "Rice, chicken balls and lentil soup."

"Good, I'm starved!"

As they shared out the portions and started to eat, Eren asked about Levi's lessons of the day. As he listened, his phone buzzed. With a frown, he dug it out of his pocket.

.

ISSY [13:27]: Hey Eren on your way back, could you grab some cheesecake? I really fancy watching FRIENDS and you can't do that without cheesecake! X

.

Levi cocked an eyebrow at the interruption.

"Issy," Eren said.

"What does the vessel of sheer idiocy want this time?"

"You know you really shouldn't call the baby that."

"Why not? All babies are dumb."

"They're smart … for their age."

"You could show them their own toe fifteen times throughout the day, and each time they'd be as excited as if someone discovered aliens fornicating on mars."

Eren blinked in amusement at the comparison. "Now, now, Godfather dearest, what happens when we need to babysit the rugrat?"

"We do what your parents did with you."

"Oh?"

"Tie a cookie to a stick and dangle it over their heads."

"Hey!"

Levi laughed. "Okay, okay I'll stop teasing you."

Eren pulled a face before returning his attention to the food.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Levi asked.

"Holing up with Issy and watching box-sets."

"How entertaining," Levi remarked drily.

"Well she likes to watch the things you don't. It's a win-win situation. Are you going to be home after work or are you going to go out with Farlan?"

"Well we need to pick his bike up at the shop and I said I'd give him a ride to the garage."

"Did they ever find out what was wrong with it?"

Levi shook his head, "Not as far as I'm aware. It's been tuned up though, so whatever the issue was it's likely to have stopped for now."

Levi's watch beeped. He had ten minutes before his next lesson.

Eren pouted, "So soon?"

"Afraid so, brat. Don't worry. I'll be home before you know it."

"I know, but if you and Farlan go out for a beer or something let me know. That was I can cook something for Issy and no one has to go hungry."

Levi straightened up from where he'd been putting his containers back in the fridge. He stared up at Eren with a strange look in his grey eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"You're just –how did you ever get to be so thoughtful?" Levi couldn't help but ask.

Eren adopted a dopey grin and shrugged. "What can I say? I like taking care of Issy. She's hilarious!"

Levi smiled with a shake of his head. Striding over to Eren, he leaned up and pressed a lingering kiss to the young man's lips. "Take care of yourself, kid."

"Yes sir."

Levi swatted his arse as he turned for the door. "And behave!"

"No!" came the petulant reply.

Levi smirked as the door closed on Eren's grinning face.

~0~

On his way back to the flat, Eren stopped off at the local shops to grab some cheesecake and other items for the fridge. They'd needed a bit of a top-up and he doubted he'd be bothered later during the week if he was going to be called in to lessons as Erwin had said he would. Once he'd paid, he hugged his arms tightly around himself and ducked out into the windy afternoon.

It was a wonder he'd gotten back to the block of flats in one piece.

Stopping off at his and Levi's place, he shoved a few items into the fridge before making his way down the hallway to Isabel's flat.

He was just fiddling with his keys –Isabel had insisted that he take one of their spares just in case she couldn't waddle her way to the door fast enough –when he heard a low noise from the other side of the door. Frowning, he slotted the key into the lock and turned.

The door swung open.

As he walked down the hallway, twisting his head this way and that, a chill ran down his spine. Setting the bag of cheesecake on the coffee table, Eren frowned. Isabel was in he knew that. Maybe she was just on the toilet?

"Issy?" he called out.

Silence.

"Isabel are you in the bathroom?"

"… _Eren?"_

Searching for the source of her voice, Eren hurried into the bathroom –empty –and the kitchen –empty –before hurrying down the hallway towards the bedroom.

"Isabel I'm going to come in, okay?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

Pushing the door open, Eren was momentarily dazed by all the lights glaring at him.

When he was able to refocused his eyes, he froze when he saw the state Isabel was in; she was hunched over on the edge of the bed, her knuckles white where she gripped the duvet, her hair a frazzled mess around her tear-stained cheeks. Craning her neck up, her lip trembled when she saw Eren.

He went to her and froze, heaving at the red stain of her bottoms.

"Fuck, Isabel what happened?"

"I d-don't know …" she whispered, barely loud enough to hear.

Taking care to avoid the mess, Eren sat on the bed and drew her against his chest. "Are you in pain?"

"Every few minutes I feel something … think it's a contraction but … the blood …"

She dissolved into sobs.

"It's okay, it's okay," he soothed, feeling utterly useless. "Are you still bleeding or … h-has it stopped?"

"Think it's stopped … Just get the pains …"

"Okay I'm going to call 999 okay?"

She nodded.

Digging his mobile out he dialled the number.

" _999 What is your emergency?"_

"My friend is eight months pregnant and she's bleeding a lot. Says she's having possible contractions. We need an ambulance."

" _Okay, what is your address?"_

Eren told them their address.

" _ETA on an ambulance is around twenty minutes_."

"That's not good enough!" Eren protested. "She needs help now!"

Isabel let out a shriek of pain.

"Can't you hear her?" he snapped.

" _There are no available ambulances at the moment. Unless you have a vehicle yourself the most you can do is make her comfortable while you wait."_

Despite the sincerity in the woman's voice, Eren was still angered. His leg bounced hard as he thought of what to do.

"Eren …" Isabel gasped, clenching a fistful of his shirt. "Take … the car …"

Eren frowned. "I can't," he argued.

"Pleeeeease –OW!"

"Okay, okay!" he brought the phone back to his ear. "Cancel the ambulance. I'll drive her to the hospital. Where's the nearest one?"

He typed in the name to his navigation maps and ended the call.

Turning to Isabel he asked, "Do you have all your hospital stuff ready?"

"It's in the bathroom … she gasped. She was as white as a sheet as he pried her hand from his shirt.

Ducking into the en-suite bathroom, he found the floral bag filled with all the baby's first's essentials. "Okay, I got the bag," he said. "Do you think you can get changed into something less … sticky?"

Isabel shook her head. "N-no … hurts …"

"Um … okay … I'll grab a towel or something." He grabbed a rather raggedy looking towel and prayed Isabel didn't secretly love it, before shouldering the hospital bag and moving so that he could help Isabel to her feet.

Getting down to the car was a feat in itself. Eren thanked God that Levi rode his motorbike to work at the start of the week. He just needed to avoid any 'pregnant mess' getting anywhere in the time it took to get to the hospital. His heart was in his throat. He was shaking with nerves and he felt the urge to puke. Isabel was clinging onto him for dear life, drenched in her own blood and sweat as they stumbled towards the car.

Bracing herself against a concrete pillar, Isabel tried to breathe deeply whilst Eren readied the front passenger seat with some old towels. Once done, he took the quaking young woman by the hand and helped her hobble over to the car. He lowered her gently into the seat, wincing as she squeezed his hand when another contraction threatened to split her in two, before gently sliding her legs into the foot well.

"Do you need anything before we head off?" Eren asked as he opened the driver's side door.

Isabel shook her head. Her hair was almost blood red with how sweaty she was. "Just d-drive!" she growled through clenched teeth.

Swallowing, Eren nodded. He started the engine and, feeling tense and flustered, edged his way out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

He hadn't driving too many times since he'd passed his test. He still felt brand new on the roads and this was definitely not the time to be putting him in a high risk, high pressure situation. However, there was no other choice. At a red light, he quickly tried to dial Levi's number but it went through to voice mail.

"Damn it Levi!" he hissed. "The one time you don't reply to me!"

He tried Farlan's number.

Voice mail.

"Fuck!" he cursed. "Does no one answer their fucking phone's anymore?!"

Another contraction caused Isabel to keel over, clutching her belly with a horrifying expression on her face. "Fuck! This is killing me!" she shrieked.

"Hold on, we're almost there!" Eren tried to keep himself calm, but knew he wasn't succeeding.

He tried to remain focused on the speed limits and the proper turnings along the motorway. It didn't help that his brain had gone utterly blank except for the mantra;

 _Isabel's in pain._

 _Isabel's in pain._

 _What's happened to the baby?_

 _Isabel's in pain!_

Finally, the sight of the hospital came into view. Eren swung into the short-stay car park, since it was the closest, before parking the car and jumping out of the front seat. He grabbed the bag from the back seat and swung it over his shoulder. Isabel was visibly shaking and pale as he extracted her front the passenger seat. He cast a forlorn look at the sodden towel before locking the car and helping Isabel wobble her way through the bitter wind towards the entrance.

Isabel had to brace herself up with Eren and the reception desk. Her knees felt weak as her vision blurred.

Eren held onto her tighter. "Can we get a wheelchair please? My friend's in labour and she needs attention now!"

The polish nurse looked up behind her pointed glasses and was on her feet within seconds. "Come this way, dear, let's get you cleaned up. I'll fetch a doctor once you're settled."

Glancing over her shoulder Isabel mumbled, " …Eren?"

Eren went to follow but a secondary nurse stopped him. "Are you the father?" she asked.

"I'm the godfather," he lied.

"Sorry, but only relatives are allowed in the room at this time."

"You can't let her be in there alone!" he protested. "The father will be on his way, but until he gets here I need to be with her!"

"I'm sorry but that's the policy."

Eren clenched his jaw. "My friend has lost a lot of blood. She may even have lost the baby. Do you seriously want to tell me that it's within her best interest to let her take any of that news whilst she's scared and alone?" he snapped.

Dear God, he was starting to argue like Levi.

The second nurse was about to protest before the polish one, Ewelina, butted in. "He can come in for now, but as soon as the father is here, he needs to leave."

"That's fine," Eren said, hurrying to follow after them.

The small, private room Isabel was given was clean and pale. The only word to really describe it was 'sterile'. Eren placed the bag on the bedside table whilst the nurse helped to rinse Isabel down and help her into a hospital gown. When she hobbled back into the room and eased herself awkwardly up onto the bed, with a inordinate amount of grunting and hissing, the nurse said that she was going to get the doctor in to see how she was doing.

Isabel waited for the nurse to leave before whispering, "I've lost the baby haven't I?"

Eren's head whipped around. "I … I don't know, Issy," he said. It wouldn't do any good to lie to the poor thing, not now. Reaching out he took both her hands in his own and kissed them. "You just need to be strong for a little while longer, okay?"

She nodded, her bottom lip trembling. "Were … Were you able to get through to the guys?"

Eren shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I'll go out when the nurse gets back and try again."

"No …" Isabel shook her head. "I need Farlan here now. Just c-call him! Until he picks up!"

"I don't want to leave you on your own."

"Eren, he needs to be here!" she wept. "I –I c-can't do this with-without him!"

Feeling all the energy sag out of him, Eren nodded. "Okay, but I'll do it in here okay?"

Isabel nodded mutely, biting her lip to ward off the pain.

Eren dug his phone out and tried Farlan's number.

Then Levi's,

Then Farlan's again.

Finally, Levi picked up in between classes.

" _Damn brat what happened? Did Isabel eat too much ice cream or something?"_

"Isabel's in the hospital!" Eren cut in. "She's in a bad way. I need you to get Farlan and bring him here now!"

" _Shit_ ," Levi hissed down the line. " _What happened?"_

"I don't know, we just got here. The doctor hasn't been able to check what's wrong or anything."

" _Okay I'm on my way. I'll grab Farlan and be there in twenty. What hospital are you at_?"

Eren told him and stated that he'd taken the car.

" _You did? Eren you're brilliant. We'll get there as soon as we can. Stay with Isabel, don't let anything happen without you there. She needs you, kid_."

"I know, I know," Eren frowned. "I just need to try and do my best."

" _You're doing great,"_ Levi assured in a rushed tone. He was hurrying out of the school by the sounds of it. " _I'm just getting on the bike. I'll see you when we get there_."

"Drive safe!" Eren snapped. "We don't need any more incidents today!"

" _Will do_."

The line went dead.

Turning to Isabel, Eren slipped his hand into hers, ignoring the pain as her nails sank into his flesh. "They're on their way. Levi's just going to pick Farlan up now."

"Eren …" Isabel panted, clutching his hand. "I'm … I'm sc-scared!"

"Hey now," Eren stood up and hugged her close, pressing kisses to her damp forehead. "The only thing you need to be scared of is Levi, and he's not going to be here for a while."

Isabel grimaced –or perhaps it was a smile.

Eren couldn't tell.

They sat in silence for what felt like forever, the ticking of the clock making Eren's nerves jump.

Eventually, the door opened with the nurse, Ewelina, and a young man wheeling a machine. Next came a tall woman with a wide face and a glasses. "Hello Isabel, I'm here to do an ultrasound for you so that we can see what's going on with the baby, okay?"

Isabel gave a shaky nod.

Eren stood as close to the bed as possible, gripping Isabel's hand tightly. He didn't know who was going to be sick first, her or him. Isabel was shaking as the nurse moved the scanner over her stomach.

There was something …

Eren's stomach flipped as the low rhythm of a heartbeat.

Isabel gasped out loud. "Eren … Eren did you hear that?" she choked out, her voice hoarse from all the crying.

"Your baby's heartbeat is a little slower than we'd like and the bleed was rather intense. If we want to avoid you haemorrhaging then we're going to need to do an emergency C-section."

What little blood remained, drained from Isabel's face. "But I … F-Farlan isn't here …"

"If we wait too much longer we won't be able to do much for you or your baby."

Eren bit his lip. He couldn't make any form of decision like this for Isabel …

He looked down into her shining brown eyes and felt the floor give out from underneath him.

"It's okay Eren."

He jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. It was Farlan, red-cheeked and smelling of cold air. His resolve began to crumble as the blonde man hugged him tight before shifting to Isabel's side.

"Where the HELL have you been?" the redhead snarled, tears racing down her cheeks.

"It's okay I'm here now, little chick," he pressed a kiss to her damp hair and slid his hand into her death-grip. "Now, what were you saying about a C-section?"

Eren backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

The cool air of the corridor rushed over him and chilled the sweat on his skin.

He sank into a chair and dropped his head in his hands, finally allowing the tears to explode down his face. He let all the emotions soak into his jeans as he quaked in the chair, rocking back and forth, his legs bouncing a hazardous rhythm into the linoleum floor.

Footsteps approached, probably a doctor, but he ignored them.

He was having a full-on manic episode and he needed to let it happen.

"Eren …"

Levi's voice made his head snap up so fast it hurt his neck.

The older man took one look at his lover, his own face crumpled with anxiety and distress. He opened his arms and Eren launched himself into the embrace, toppling them both to their knees. Levi was fast and strong, readily catching the younger man as he broke out into another bout of hysterics against his shirt. Stroking the brunette's hair, Levi willed himself to remain calm. His best friends were in a crisis and it would not do them any good for either he or Eren to panic.

And yet …

Thoughts of Isabel lying lifeless on a white bed, her skin blue with death contrasting with the redness of her hair …

He heaved, his lunch threatening to come out.

"Is … Is the baby …?" he let the question hang.

Eren shook his head, "The baby's fine. Th-they said … about a c-section …"

"Fuck!"

"Just as Farlan came in …"

"Poor guy."

Eren nodded, a cold numbness crawling through his limbs.

The door opened. They both turned to see a pale-faced Farlan step out into the hallway. He stopped short when he saw them crouched on the floor and frowned. "What're you doing?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Nothing," Eren sighed, forcing himself to his feet alongside Levi.

"How is she?" Levi asked.

Farlan shook his head, "Not in a good way. She's hysteric, says she doesn't want surgery but without it …"

"Are they going to?"

Farlan nodded vigorously. "It's non-optional. They're just going to alert the surgeons and then we're going down." To Levi he said, "Thanks for getting me here, man. I owe you."

"Nonsense," Levi hissed. "Just go with her and make sure our girl comes out of this, got it?"

Tears shone in Farlan's eyes. None dropped. He forced a wrecked smile, "Course I will."

Within ten minutes everything was approved.

Isabel was taken down to surgery with Farlan at her side.

Eren and Levi were left in the waiting room. They stood staring long after the doors closed shut behind their friends.

* * *

 **A/N: I feel like I was a little evil on you guys, making you wait so long for such an emotional chapter. However, I HOPE you liked it and please leave some reviews! I've missed you all! x**


	32. Chapter 31

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31**

 **Tuesday AM**

.

The waiting area was deserted.

That meant it was the only ideal place for Eren and Levi to try and get some rest whilst they waited for news on Isabel and the baby.

It wasn't an easy feat; whenever one of them drifted off, the sharp squeak of rubber soles on the floor or old metal wheels swivelling to and fro would jolt them away. Then there would be a weird headache that could only be subdued by chugging water or going for a walk in a slightly darker area.

By the time 3AM rolled around both of them were irritable and exhausted.

Levi was awake, a cup of stale black coffee clutched in his hands. Eren was asleep beside him, his head nestled in Levi's lap. Every so often a nurse would go by and hiss that Eren wasn't allowed to have his feet up, hospital policy and all that rubbish. Levi didn't even reply anymore, he simple drank from his paper cup and glared.

They soon got the message.

As the clock ticked away, Levi stared into space, not allowing himself to believe that any of this was really happening. Just as the weather was turning brutal, Isabel got into trouble during the last leg of her pregnancy. He could only imagine how Eren had coped in that moment, completely unprepared for what was to come next. Even Hange would have known what to do.

He had done his best that was all anyone could have asked of him.

Levi was proud of Eren. It fought against all the other ugly emotions swirling around in his chest as he waited to hear some news, any news, about his best friends and their baby.

What if he never got to see the little one's face?

What if he never got the chance to baby-sit, despite all his vocal protestations?

What about all the baby clothes they would have to return because there was no baby to wear them?

Would they name the baby?

That thought made Levi stiffen a little in his chair. Would it help ease their grief, if they named their child? He wasn't sure on how parents coped in such ways, he doubted if any of them really did 'cope' as well as they liked to make out. However, he had read many a study on grief, and knew that people always seemed to have issues with closure if something wasn't resolved.

Like naming a baby you had lost.

' _Yes_ ,' he thought. ' _Isabel would insist that they name the child_.'

He leaned his head back against the wall behind him. He didn't think he'd be here of all places in the early hours of a Tuesday morning. He's already messaged Erwin and told him that he might not be in for work. He got a half-coherent message in response, telling him not to worry about things and to send Isabel his regards.

"Levi?"

Glancing down, he saw sleepy green eyes peering up at him.

"Hey kid. Don't wake up, go back to sleep."

"NNnn it's too bright in here," Eren grunted, slinging an arm over his eyes. "Gives me a headache …"

"Well you haven't missed anything so I wouldn't worry too much," Levi muttered, his throat dry. "I have no idea what's going on."

Curling himself onto his side, Eren wrapped an arm around Levi's back to anchor himself. "Does it worry you?"

"Of course I'm worried," he said. "They're my friends."

"What about the baby?"

"Of course I'm worried for the baby," he sighed. "I just … Tried not to get too attached."

"I'd noticed …"

"Don't judge me for it, Eren. It's a huge change and so much can go wrong in the early stages of life. It's … difficult."

"Life is always going to be difficult," Eren grumbled. "Can't not love someone or something just because it might go away."

Levi hummed but didn't comment.

He stroked his fingers through Eren's soft hair, grateful that the younger man didn't press the issue.

"I hope the baby is okay," Eren breathed, almost inaudible over the ticking of the clock.

Levi nodded, "Me too, Eren."

.

.

 **Tuesday AM**

.

 ** _2 hours later …_**

.

Levi jolted away.

Farlan was shaking his shoulder and calling him name, asking if he was alright. Batting the blonde man away, Levi groaned and rubbed the soreness from his eyes as he felt a weight shift off of his lap. Blinking against the harsh lights, he grimaced and tried to focus on Farlan.

That's when it hit him.

Farlan was here in the waiting room.

That meant …

"Oh dear God!" Levi felt the blood drain from his face. "Issy's bloody gone and died hasn't she?"

Farlan did a double-take, blinking in shock. "You think I'd be so calm if she was dead?" he forced an exhausted smile. "I just came to tell you that the operation went well. Isabel is fine, they'd just taking her up to her room now."

"And … And the baby?" Eren asked.

"She's wonderful. Healthy. Has a great set of lungs."

"Thank God!" Levi dropped low in his chair, hands cupped over his face. "I've not been that scared in a long time!"

The blonde man nodded in understanding. "I'm still not sure I can believe any of it's happened," he admitted. "It all just came about so fast."

"When can we see her?" Levi asked, standing up to crack the knots out of his joints.

"The nurses said she shouldn't be rushed getting settled," Farlan said. "Told me to come and get a coffee to settle my nerves a bit."

"Issy was okay with that?"

"She said since she drew blood, it's the least she owed me." To emphasise his point, he held up a bandaged hand.

"Shit!" Eren hissed, his eyes going wide. "What did she do?"

"Despite all her feisty bravado, Isabel is horrifically afraid of needles and surgeons. This was like a three hour long nightmare for her. She nearly dug a hole right through my hand –and that was before they'd even started!"

Levi cocked an eyebrow at the bandaged hand, before swiping his jacket off the chair. "Let's get a coffee. I will not be able to function without a couple."

"A couple sounds good to be," Eren grunted in response as he tugged his jumped on over his head.

.

They made their way to the cafeteria. Thankfully someone was working the graveyard shift and made them four black coffees and two regular coffees between them. Finding a table a little way off, the three men sat down and groaned as the reality of the day hit their aching bodies. For about twenty minutes they didn't say anything, choosing instead to hunch over their coffees and inhaling the caffeinated vapours until their brains rebooted.

"I can't believe I'm a father," the blonde man spoke, breaking the silence with a look of sheer disbelief on his face. "It feels like this has all dropped on my head, yet I've known about it for months."

"Knowing and having it happen are two different things," Levi stated. "You can know about a test for weeks in advance and assume you're as prepared as you'll ever be. However, once you get into that exam hall and look at the questions, you realise you didn't cover any of it. So you have to start from scratch, in your hand, with no manual of guidelines, just a vague understanding through Chinese whispers you've accumulated over the year."

Farlan's eyebrows rose. "Did you put something in your coffee or are you always this smart?"

"I'm always this smart," Levi stated impassively. "Just not out loud around you. Wouldn't want to ruin your ego."

Eren smiled; laughter cost too much energy at the moment.

Seeing his reaction, Farlan nudged the kid's shoulder. "You tell me the truth, Eren. Is he always this smart or does he put it on around me?"

Eren glanced between the two friends. He hadn't spent a lot of time around Farlan and wasn't entirely sure how to read the blonde man. He glanced over at Levi but saw that there was no wariness in his grey eyes. In fact he looked tired and slightly amused. "Oh, he's always this smart," Eren agreed. "Even his dirty talk gets almost too smart to be sexy."

Levi cocked an eyebrow. "Is that so, brat? At least I wasn't the one who wanted to role-play as Tony Stark and Loki."

Eren spat his coffee, "Levi!"

Farlan glanced between the two men and raked a hand through his hair. "Maybe I don't want to be leaving my new-born daughter in the care of two nitwits."

Levi rolled his eyes. "You say that now, but as soon as you want sex and Isabel _lets_ you, you won't be able to hand her over fast enough."

Farlan smiled as drained the last of his first cup. "We'll see," he grinned, smacking his lips.

"I guarantee you can't go three months without needing us to babysit."

"Are you challenging me?" Farlan asked, aghast.

"Obviously."

"Fine. Deal. Fifty quid."

They shook hands.

Eren couldn't but sit there, amused at their antics. It reminded him of his own friends and that he hadn't them or his sister in a while. He needed to fix that at some point.

They sat around, drinking their coffees even after they started to cool down rapidly. They listened as Farlan recounted the entire ordeal of Isabel's surgery, how panicked she was, how he made the mistake of peering around the screen and seeing her insides. How his face had made her freak out that there was something wrong with the baby. They'd needed to sedate her midway through because her blood pressure had been too high.

He described how surreal it was to see this tiny human, shivering and squealing, from his lover's belly.

How he'd held that little thing when she was bundled up, crying to be held.

How Isabel had fallen under completely after seeing her little girl for the first time.

It was like living in a dream, he'd said. Where time stops and when you wake up, everything is different.

Once they'd finished the last of their coffees, Levi swiped up the cups, stacked them and then went over to throw them in the bin. When he came back he didn't bother sitting down again.

"So, who wants to go and see my daughter?" Farlan grinned, feeling more alert than he had all night.

~0~

Isabel had been moved to a private room on the maternity ward. Since she needed more peace and quiet, and a longer stay in hospital, she was allowed the privacy of her own room. The nurses had allowed her to keep her little one close-by, despite the heavy monitoring every hour. Not that Isabel minded; she'd rather know her daughter was safe.

Farlan edged into the room first, taking precautions to not make too much noise.

Levi and Eren followed close behind, shutting the door on the noises of the ward beyond.

They crowded around either side of the bed. Farlan slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders and guided Isabel sideways to lean against his chest. Her skin was flushed and still a little shiny despite having been wiped with a flannel, and her red hair was tied back in a messy ponytail that was already escaping its ties. Despite all this, she was smiling.

Eren inched a little closer, curious to see the little bundled wrapped up against Isabel's chest.

She smiled and eased the blankets down a little, just enough to give Eren a proper view of the little girls face; her cheeks were round and pink, her small lips gumming together in her sleep. One fist was curled around the fold of the blanket.

"Isn't she perfect?" Isabel breathed, tears shining in her eyes.

Eren nodded, his own watery smile catching him off-guard.

"She looks beautiful, Issy," Levi smiled as he reached down and gave her arm a squeeze. "Just try not to scare us like that again, okay?"

Isabel pursed her lips together, torn between smiling at the joke and crying at the weight of it. Instead, she just nodded a few times and said, "I'll do my best."

"Do you want to hold her?" Farlan asked.

Levi stiffened.

Eren frowned slightly as he watched the older man straighten to his full height.

"That's okay, Farlan. Wouldn't want to ruin this little moment."

Farlan opened his mouth to argue, but Isabel shushed him. "Let's not argue in front of the baby, eh?"

Farlan exchanged a look with Levi. It was a challenge, stating that this would not be over until Levi held the baby. However, that would have to wait as, in that moment, the baby started to fuss.

"Oh gosh," Isabel frowned, "she must be hungry."

"We'll leave you to it," Levi stated. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Isabel's forehead. "Rest up. We'll be back to see you soon."

"Take care you two," Farlan said, not evening looking up to see them out.

.

.

 **Friday PM**

.

Eren hurried out through the double doors, trying his best to side-step some pesky year 7's, before sprinting across the car park to where Levi was waiting for him. The engine was already rumbling away as he opened the passenger door, tossed his bag and water bottle into the back seat and fastened his seatbelt.

As soon as he heard the 'click' Levi swung out of the car park and onto the main road.

"What took you so long?" he finally growled once they'd been cruising for a good five minutes.

Eren, having gotten his breath back, raked a hand through his hair and sighed. "That stupid cow, Nancy, had the audacity to say that it was my duty to clean up after her class cooked in the Food Tech room!"

Levi rolled his eyes, "She always tried to find a way to wriggle out of that. I hope you told her 'no'?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"Only just."

"Yeah well, she'd barely finished the question before I was out of the room. I'm not her assistant, I just went in to borrow some glue."

"Good. Don't let her take advantage of you."

Eren sighed and reached over to squeeze Levi's shoulder. "Rough day?"

"I despise Year 11's. They think they're so hot because a few of them are taller than me."

"It's like they're asking for you to punch them and show them whose boss."

"Tell me about it."

Eren grinned. "Have you heard from Issy today?"

"No, but then it's hard to multi-task when you have a whining, drooling leech attached to you."

"True," Eren nodded. "Plus, she has the baby now."

Levi chuckled deeply. "Knew there was a reason I liked you, brat."

Within twenty minutes they had parked into the visitor's car park and we weaving their way through the maze of corridors and staircases until they got to the maternity ward. Levi knocked on the door before poking his head inside.

Isabel smiled tiredly as she waved them in with her free hand. "You guys came at the perfect time. Farlan needed to pop home to get some extra things."

The two men sat down in the vacant chairs. "How are you?" Levi asked.

"I'm feeling better," Isabel admitted. "Sore as hell, but it was totally worth it."

"Speak for yourself," the older man grimaced. "Until she discovers intelligent life on Jupiter, I am refusing to see how it was worth it."

Eren smacked his arm, "Levi you can't call their baby dumb!"

"I didn't. I just said she wasn't a smartarse."

"Yes, that would be a real tragedy," Isabel deadpanned.

Eren snickered and Levi bristled.

"So is today the day you're finally going to hold her?" Isabel challenged, cocking her eyebrow.

"Absolutely not."

"Levi, come on. She's your goddaughter. You're legally obliged to hold her!"

Levi glared at her but didn't have the heart to argue. With great reluctance, he stood up from his seat and went over to the bed. Eren leaned forward in his seat, trying desperately to see if the older man fumbled in any way. His heart was in his throat as he watched Levi gingerly cradle the baby's head, every muscle tense with awkwardness.

Levi sat back in his chair, the baby girl in his hands and his mind utterly blank except for one thought.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

He was holding a baby –his goddaughter –what did he do now? She was sleeping, that was good right?

But what if she woke up?

What would he do if she vomited on his shirt?

The smell would never entirely go, nor would the stain. He'd have to throw the damn thing out!

The baby wriggled in her sleep.

Levi felt hot and panicked, his heart lurching awkwardly in his chest.

Ever so gently, he raised the little one to his chest so that she could nuzzle against his shoulder. The seemed to curl into his quite comfortably, grizzling quietly in his ear. He rubbed circles over her back like he'd seen Isabel do throughout the week. He hoped his hands weren't too rough for the little thing –God, she was so small! It was terrifying to think just how tiny all humans were at one point in their lives.

So small and vulnerable.

' _I'll do whatever I can to make sure you're safe,_ ' Levi thought as he gently swayed. ' _If anything were to happen, I would do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy_.'

Suddenly, he was all too aware of Eren and Isabel watching him, their mouths agape with awe.

"You'd better close those before spiders crawl in them and lay eggs in your gullet," he hissed.

"Sorry!" they both said.

Eren snapped his mouth shut, silently drinking in the scene before him. When Levi wasn't looking he dug out his phone and took a few snaps –one of those was definitely going to be framed on the wall –before joining the conversation.

"So," Levi continued in a quiet voice as he rocked the baby. "Have you two finally decided on a name for this little one yet?"

"We have actually," Isabel beamed.

"What did you decide?" Eren asked, remembering all the bickering throughout the week of what to call their miracle baby.

Dear God, he hoped they didn't name her 'miracle'.

"Well out with it," Levi groused. "And I swear if it's a gross, hipster-baby name I am disowning all three of you."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a drama queen," she grinned. "I think you'll like it."

"So? What is it?"

"Levi, Eren, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter; Evelina Nicole Magnolia-Church."

Levi didn't say a word.

Isabel frowned, "Don't you like it?"

"It's lovely," he remarked. "How would you feel about me calling her 'Evie'?"

"I would _love_ for you to call her Evie."

.

.

 **Friday PM**

.

As they drove home, Mikasa messaged him asking about weekend plans and what he'd been up to, how work had been and all the usual, mundane questions. Eren smirked, having not mentioned anything about the baby other than that she'd been born two weeks early.

.

[19:12] **_So are you going to tell me what's going on with your mates or what?_**

[19:15] **_The baby's ok, right?_**

[19:20] _Yes, the baby and parents are all doing great._

[19:23] **_This is what happens when you don't tell me shit!_**

[19:25] **_Have they thought about names?_**

[19:28] _Evelina Nicole Magnolia-Church._

[19:29] _Evie for short._

[19:32] **_Whooooo! Was gonna say that's a long name for a little one!_**

[19:35] **_Do you have a pic?_**

[19:36] _EREN SENT A [X].JPEG_

[19:39] **_OMG SHE IS SO CUTE! LOOK AT THAT HAIR!_**

[19:41] **_Wait that's not Farlan…_**

[19:42] **_O. M. G. Eren is that LEVI?!_**

[19:43] _Maybe ;)_

[19:46] **_Careful bro. Don't go getting all broody. I'm not about to raise your Hell spawn!_**

[19:48] _Ok you're so gross! I'm not talking to you anymore!_

[19:50] **_Love you too ;D_**

.

Eren rolled his eyes and slid his phone back into his pocket.

They pulled into the buildings parking lot and climbed out. "Do you fancy a Chinese?" Eren asked as he stretched his back muscles.

Levi nodded as he locked the car. "Sure. Haven't been able to go out all this time. Why break tradition?"

"True," Eren grinned as he hurried up the stairs behind his lover.

It was true, having a baby was a miracle in some households. They were loved and cherished and grew into wonderful little humans.

On the flip side, Eren got to sleep naked every night with the man he loved, watch eighties movies on Netflix whilst eating Chinese and then gaze at his lover as he read in bed, wearing nothing but a bed sheet and his glasses.

You couldn't do those sorts of things with a _baby_.

Eren was pretty sure he'd be able to make his peace with that.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for your lovely comments and support of this story.**

 **Side note: My boyfriend has finally finished his chemotherapy and had his first day back at work today! I am so proud of him! It's such a huge weight off my chest and mind. Hopefully I won't be writing too much angst in my stories :)**


	33. Chapter 32

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 32**

.

.

The week that Isabel and Farlan brought baby Evie home was hectic.

Levi and Eren both had to work, however took great pleasure in making a detour on their way to getting indoors for a cool beer or hot cup of tea, in order to give their friend some much needed adult company.

The weather outside grew bitter and the prospect of giving Evie the best first Christmas ever was plaguing everybody's minds, despite Levi's recurring comment that 'she's not going to remember any of it'.

"First's are crucial for a child's development," Farlan stated. "That's what all the books say."

"Yes, because books never lie to people," Levi quipped sarcastically.

Eren swatted him on the arm.

Isabel looked between the two men and couldn't help but smile as she rocked Evie gently in her lap. "Regardless of what those books say, I still want this to be a good time for all of us. Our little family has almost doubled in size since last year," she said, giving a pointed look over to Eren.

Levi felt his cheeks heat up.

Farlan snorted into his mug. "Doesn't mean anything will change," he said. "Levi won't celebrate Christmas or his birthday, just like always, and I have no idea what Eren is into during Christmas, but I'm assuming a family meal is out of the question, and we'll have our hands tied with the baby. I guess that means it'll just be Hange and Mike singing Christmas Carols whilst doing shots."

"Oh, he's so miserable!" Isabel grimaced. She stroked Evie's small tuft of orange hair before kissing her brow. "Ignore daddy, he's just being a sour-puss."

Turning in his seat on the floor, between Levi's legs, Eren looked up at the older man. "Are you really not going to celebrate Christmas or your birthday?"

"Most likely not."

"Why?"

"I don't like being reminded of how old I am," Levi intoned. "Plus Christmas has never been something I enjoy."

"Things are different this year. You have me!"

Levi quirked a small smile and trailed his fingers through Eren's hair. "I know I have you, brat. That doesn't change how I feel on the matter. Christmas is a waste of time and money and my birthday is –well –gloomy."

"Tell me why it's such a chore and I'll let it lie."

Levi could feel his friends' eyes trailing on him. He tensed in the armchair. "I get no cards or letters wishing me a 'happy birthday'. There's never a party of people to cheer. A whole day to celebrate being born? Whatever for?"

"Well at the very least we have to celebrate Christmas!" Eren stated in a petulant manner. "For the baby."

"Fine," Levi managed, smirking slightly. "For the baby."

~0~

 ** _[ISABEL CALLING]_**

.

"Hello?"

" _Hi Eren, sorry! I don't mean to keep bothering you but … is she okay?_ "

Eren chuckled, "Isabel relax, okay? You're allowed to have a lunch date with Farlan okay? Evie's doing okay."

" _But maybe I should pop back? She's only three weeks old and_ -"

"Isabel," Levi snatched the phone with his free hand. "I know this is hard, but Evie is being a dream okay? You and Farlan need some adult time. It's only for two hours, I think Eren and I can survive."

" _What about me Levi? I miss my baby!_ "

"Yes and I'm sure it's all you and Farlan are thinking about." He paused, "Bet it feels nice not to be covered in spit-up though."

" _It's … been a while_ ," she hedged.

"Bet it's nice having Farlan all to yourself."

" _It is_."

"Good. Now stop whining, have some fun with your baby-daddy, and we'll see you in an hour okay?"

She sighed down the line. " _Yes, okay, you're right. Sorry. It's just strange_ …"

"I know," he said. "How about this? Stay out for two hours, and Eren and I will send you pics of how Evie's been, Okay?"

" _You'd do that for me?_ "

"Of course, Issy."

" _Thanks Levi. You guys are the best!_ "

"We know."

The line went dead.

Eren snickered as he took the phone back from his lover. "She did need to get out," he reasoned out loud. "I don't ever want to see her with baby-poop-stained sweatpants for the rest of my life."

"It'll do them some good," Levi said as he gently bounced Evie against his chest. "Farlan's been missing some adult company and I can only do so much. They love this little thing, but they also need time alone."

Eren smiled softly as he watched Levi rub the child's back as she dozed comfortably against his chest. Despite all his protests, Levi adored the baby with a fierce love that Eren wasn't sure he'd possessed. Not for children, anyway. Unable to resist he took his phone out and snapped a pic before sending it to Issy.

.

[13:04] _EREN SENT A .JPEG_

[13:05] _There you go, mama! She's being a sweetie!_

[13:08] **_My heart melted! x_**

.

Eren tucked his phone away. "Aren't your legs getting tired?" he asked with a frown. "You've been pacing for almost half an hour now."

"What else should we do?" Levi asked with a frown.

"We could lie down in bed and get cosy."

"It's the middle of the day, kid."

"And it's a Saturday and we're babysitting. So, since this was your idea, you must suffer a few hours in bed in the middle of the day with me and the baby."

Levi pulled a face, "I honestly didn't ever imagine that sentence coming up in my life." He sighed and adjusted Evie against his chest. "I suppose sitting on the bed wouldn't be the worst thing."

Eren grinned. "You go and get comfy and I'll make us some tea."

Levi inclined his head, a spark of gratitude in his grey eyes. He made his way into the bedroom and drew the blind down with one hand so the light didn't piss him off. Easing himself down onto the bed, Evie began to fuss a little. "Hey now, shh, shh, it's okay." He gently bounced her and she grizzled, her tiny fists nudging against his shoulder. For a split second he was scared in case she started to cry.

She settled down after a few moments of fidgeting and scrunching up her little pink nose.

Eren came in five minutes later to find Levi reclining back on the headboard with Evie nestled in the curve of his body. Walking around the end of the bed, he set Levi's mug down on the bedside table. "There you are. Might not want to drink it with Evie on you, though."

"I think I can manage drinking tea, Eren."

"Yes," he said slowly. "But maybe don't burn her little head, eh?"

Levi rolled his eyes but didn't reach for his tea. "Can you hold her for a little bit?"

Eren nodded, setting his mug aside and carefully lifting the little creature off of Levi's chest. The older man took a long drink from his mug before turning a movie on the TV and lowering the volume. Relaxing back against the pillows, he sighed contently.

"You know," Eren said, "If you'd told me a year ago I'd be baby-sitting my hot boyfriends incessant friend's baby, I'd have punched someone in the face."

Levi snorted softly. "A lot seems to have happened in the last year, hasn't it?"

Eren nodded, rubbing soft circles on Evie's back. "It's hard to believe sometimes."

Levi glanced up at the younger man and frowned slightly. "You're happy thought, right? With me?"

Dazzling green eyes turned to lock onto his, "Yeah of course I am. I wouldn't trade this for the world."

Levi believed him.

.

.

An hour later, an incessant buzzing startled Levi awake. Grunting, he wiped sleep from his eyes and rolled over to snatch his phone from the bedside table. It was Issy. He glared at his phone, hoping she could feel the heat of his wrath on the other end before opening her messages. There were a lot. All of them panicking and threatening the life of Eren's balls since he'd promised idiotic shit about photographic evidence of their spawn of all things!

He didn't have the energy to reply.

Rolling onto his other side, he angled his camera at Evie and snapped a photo before sending it off to Issy. He didn't bother writing anything.

As he was about to turn over, he looked down at the photo again. He'd deny it to anyone for the rest of his life, but that photo made his heart melt. Doing the most juvenile thing he'd ever done in all his thirty-odd years of living –Levi made a personal photo his screensaver.

~0~

Farlan gave them a tired smile as he closed the front door.

Levi and Eren turned to walk lazily back down the hall to their own flat.

Levi slid his hand into Eren's and pulled him close for a kiss before slipping the key into the lock. When they entered, he flipped the switch and stopped short.

Their flat looked so … _bare_.

Christmas was barely two weeks away and they didn't have a shred of festive cheer in their flat. Levi's gut twisted miserably. Was he depriving Eren of Christmas? Isabel and Farlan's flat looked like Santa had been fed on tinsel for a year and then threw up all over the place.

It was depressing.

"Are you okay?" Eren asked with a frown. He closed the front door and put the chain on before moving to stand beside his lover. "Levi, what's up?"

"Why don't we have a Christmas tree?" he asked quietly.

Eren blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that. If anything he was almost certain he remembered Levi hating the holiday season. "Um … I guess I didn't think you liked it so I never brought it up."

Levi turned to Eren. "Do you want one?"

"I … What?"

"A tree. Do you want a Christmas tree?"

"S-sure. Levi you don't have to do this. I –I don't mind that you don't really like Christmas."

"Look, there have been a lot of things you've had to adjust to just by living with me," Levi stated, drawing in a deep breath. "If you'd like to celebrate Christmas … I guess it wouldn't be so bad."

The younger man rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced around the room. The place did look empty. Like it was the one house that Christmas had forgotten about. Eren already had a gift or two for Levi … but with no tree to put it under he'd kept it all wrapped and hidden in his bedside drawer.

Eren took Levi's hand in his own, "You don't need to change your entire lifestyle for me, you know. I fell for you just the way you are."

Sighing, Levi nodded. "I know. I also know that I can't expect you do everything my way. We won't be able to get much in the way of decorations now but … I can find something."

Despite himself, Eren grinned. "Even if it's a miniature tree?"

"Yes … Even if it's a miniature tree."

"Sounds good," Eren stole a kiss with an impish grin.

.

.

 **Friday PM**

.

"Come on Farlan, Levi said the food will be there soon!"

Farlan ignored Isabel's huffing around as he made sure their front door was safely locked, tucked his keys into his back pockets and followed the redhead down the hall to Levi's place. Since it had been a while since they'd all gotten together for a proper Chinese take-away, Levi had been gracious enough to host at his flat. Isabel was eager for something deep-friend and slathered in grease. Farlan was content to rock Evie gently in her harness on his chest.

Eren opened the door when they knocked.

He grinned, looking all kinds of young and dopey in his elf hat and obscene Christmas jumper. Levi looked his usual, straight-laced no-nonsense self –with a Santa hat perched precariously on top of his head.

Issy thought she'd never see the day!

Despite his scowling, both Isabel and Farlan got a good few snapshots before he threatened to eat Issy's duck pancakes.

The decorations had been a haphazard muddle, but Levi couldn't deny he enjoyed seeing how excited Eren had been as he'd bounced from shop-to-shop grabbing any remnants of Christmas decorations. It hadn't worked out too badly, and everything had been reduced to clear, so that was even better. Levi did feel a twinge of guilt, at having reduced their first Christmas together to something last-minute and hurried, but Isabel had matter-of-factly stated that men are useless at planning when it came to Christmas time. She even had to remind Farlan to buy presents for his parents!

When the Chinese arrived, they spread it all out over the coffee table and sat cross-legged around it. Evie was still on breast-milk so every so often Issy would have to disappear into the next room to feed her.

They had the TV on in the background, but no one was really paying attention to it. Eren was just giddy for the day when it was both Christmas and his lover's birthday. He knew it was a tough day for Levi to deal with, however he wanted to make sure the older man knew how adored he was.

As the evening wore on, Evie started to fuss, and after a few kisses from her godfathers, the proud parents decided to take their little bundle of joy home. Levi cleared up the takeaway containers, whilst Eren reorganised the living room; putting blankets and cushions back on the appropriate chairs.

Stepping into the kitchen, Eren wrapped his arms around Levi's shoulders. The older man stiffened as he was rinsing their glasses in the sink. "I'm so excited for Christmas!" Eren said, barely able to contain his excitement.

Levi smirked, "Yeah I can tell."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well either that's a candy-cane in your pocket, or someone gets horny when presents are involved."

Eren threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, that was so lame but you're adorable for trying!"

Levi reached over his shoulder and palmed soapsuds into Eren's face, causing the younger man to snort bubbles. "Hey that's not fair!"

Levi shrugged with a smirk.

Eren reached over and dipped his hand into the soapy water.

The smile left Levi's face. "Oi brat don't you –Hey!"

Eren howled with laughter at how ridiculous Levi looked in a Santa hat AND a bubble beard! It wasn't long before their antics led to an all-out war of epic, bubbly proportions!

Eventually, Levi claimed his victory, stole a kiss, and forced Eren to do the rest of the tidying up by himself before coming to bed. Eren pouted but couldn't hold the expression for long. He was soaked through, but there was nothing that could shake his eagerness for Christmas day. Not even Levi winning a bubble war!

.

.

 **Christmas Day**

.

Eren was buzzing with energy. He'd barely slept longer than 4AM. He knew his phone was going to start vibrating with Christmas well-wishers within the next hour or so. The sky was pitch black outside and there was a chill in the air, despite the low hum of the radiator working its magic. He was itching to dig out Levi's Christmas presents. The older man always woke up before 6AM, like clockwork. It didn't matter if it was term-time or not, he'd wake up almost on the dot every morning.

Today, however, Eren beat him to it.

By the time Levi yawned, stretched and glanced over at his lover, said bundle of energy was already sitting cross-legged in bed with a huge grin splitting his face in half. Cocking a dark eyebrow, Levi drawled, "Someone's excited."

"Damn right I'm excited!" Eren grinned. "We have a long day of Christmas cheer to get through before we can even think of having anyone else round!"

Levi pushed himself higher in the bed and fetched his glasses off the nightstand. "How are you so energetic?" he asked with a wry smirk.

"I really just want you to like your presents."

"No pressure then, eh?" Levi smirked as he ruffled Eren's hair. "Do you want to open them in here, or do you want to go into the living-room and have some tea?"

Eren shrugged. "I don't mind."

Levi gave Eren a deadpan look. "You're only saying that because you want to stay in bed, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"Little shit."

Eren grinned, "Okay, you stay cosy in bed, I'll grab the presents!" He bounced off the bed and raced for the door.

"And the tea!" Levi called after him.

 _"AND THE TEA!_ "

.

It took Eren about twenty minutes to do all the things he'd taken upon himself. He didn't mind, he was all too happy to run back and forth to the lounge in order to grab the presents. It was a fairly small pile compared to the one he was used to seeing back at his parents' house, but that didn't deter him from enjoying the day.

Once all the presents were piled up on the bed, Eren wriggled back under the covers, closer to Levi to absorb his warmth, and then snatched the first present off the top of the pile.

"This one's for y-o-o-o-u," he chimed, handing the brightly coloured monstrosity to Levi. "And this one's for me!"

Levi took the present with a wry smirk. "Who're these from?"

"These ones are from my mum."

Levi opened the present and was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of real leather gloves. They'd be great for riding his bike. "That was thoughtful of her," he said, slipping his hand into the glove. He was even more surprised to feel how soft the lining was inside. "What did she get you?"

"A set of socks, underwear and a smart jumper for work."

"Cute. Next one?"

Eren swiped up the next two. "These are from … Issy and Farlan." He tore open the wrapping paper with childlike gusto and Levi just had to chuckle. "Awww Levi look! Issy got a little canvas with the photo of you and Evie! Oh, it's so cute!"

Levi leaned his chin on Eren's shoulder and smiled at the photo, "It really is adorable."

"Can we hang it on the wall? Above the bed?"

"I don't see why not."

Eren pressed a light, buzzing kiss to Levi's lips. "What did they get you?"

Turning to his own gift, Levi pried the wrapping away. Glaring back at him, printed on the front cover of a book were the words;

' **HOW TO PLEASE YOU LOVER THE GAY WAY! 101 TOP SEXUAL POSITIONS FOR GAY MEN!** '

"Levi?" Eren frowned. He snuck a look at the cover and gasped. Then he dropped back onto the pillows, howling with laughter. "Oh my God that's insane!"

"This is ludicrous," Levi murmured, still in shock.

"I can only imagine what their amazon will start suggesting for Farlan!"

"Well, looks like I don't regret getting Farlan that giant glow-in-the-dark dildo."

Eren's eyes went wise, "Tell me you didn't!"

"I did."

"This is why you're the best." He grabbed another present and dumped it onto Levi's lap. "This is one of the one's from me."

Levi took the smaller gift in his hands. It rattled. Opening the paper, he frowned down at the box in his hands. "Er … What's this?"

Eren averted his gaze, his cheeks going pink. "It's er … It's an e-cigarette. I thought that, you know, your health and stuff … and with the baby you wouldn't want her sniffing smoke off you … you don't have to keep it, I just thought it was something you could do maybe. Wean you off cigarettes and stuff."

"Eren."

"Y-yes?"

"You're rambling."

Eren's cheeks went redder.

"This is very thoughtful of you," Levi said, "No one's really taken much interest in my health. It's kind of you to care."

Eren shrugged as nonchalantly as possible. "I kind of want you to stick around for a long time so … it's entirely selfish."

Levi chuckled and drew Eren against his chest. He pressed kisses to the younger man's forehead. "I do love you. I'll give this a try. Hopefully it works."

Eren beamed at him. He leaned in, nestling his head against Levi's chest. It always bewildered the older man how someone almost double his height, could make themselves so small so as to fit perfectly with his body. Levi would never stop finding new and endearing ways that he and Eren fit together, how they made each other better and how well they complimented one another, in spite of their differences.

That was all surface level bullshit.

These moments were the ones that mattered, the ones that defined themselves and their relationship. It was one of the key ingredients that would make sure their relationship lasted for years to come.

Hugging the kid closer, Levi stroked his thumb along the e-cigarette packet and felt his heart swell. "Merry Christmas, kid."

"Merry Christmas you grumpy sod."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys ... I'm sorry it took me ages to update and that the update is a pretty filler-y sort of chapter. I sort of flagged a little and then got struck down my an almighty virus and insane back pain so ... it has not been good. I spent the last few days asleep for 70% of it. Either way, I hope you guys hang around for the next two chapters -we're almost at the end! I promise it'll be good!**

 **B xox**


	34. Chapter 33

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 33**

.

.

Isabel raked her hair out of her eyes as she scanned the back garden. Eren had been kind enough to offer up his parent's house for a little anniversary BBQ, and she couldn't have been more grateful. It was a huge ask, but Eren's mum, Carla, had insisted she didn't mind. It still felt a little tense, having to physically tiptoe around Grisha, but from Isabel had heard, she wasn't missing much.

Over at the barbecue, Farlan was merrily flipping burgers, chicken and sausages while his other hand held a beer. Levi was standing next to him, looking as statuesque as he always did. Eren's sister and a few friends had joined in, Mikasa and Sasha having lots of fun in cooing over Evie. It warmed Isabel's heart to see her little girl so happy.

She was sure she was forgetting something.

Eren jolted her out of her musings by handing her the lemonade she'd asked for fifteen minutes ago. She smiled and accepted the drink. "Thanks, kiddo," she took a long, loud slurp through the straw and sighed with relief. "How's things?"

"You mean other than how awkward it's going to be with Levi and me sharing my single, childhood bed tonight? Pretty good."

Isabel frowned. "Why're you staying here tonight?"

"Mum wanted us to go out for brunch in the morning. More to avoid my dad, but you know," he shrugged, taking a sip from his own beer bottle. "Evie looks like she's having fun," Eren stated, waving over at the girls and his goddaughter.

Evie was too busy plucking daisies out of the grass to pay any attention.

"She's an angel," Eren smiled.

Isabel looked up at him and frowned a little, her gaze darting back to where Levi stood, laughing with Farlan, his shades obscuring his face. "Don't you think you two will ever …?" she let the question hang in the air between them.

"Nah," Eren shook his head. "It's not for us. I love Evie don't get me wrong, and I'm always happy to look after her. I don't know that I could do what you do, though. The midnight feeding, staying home all day, the baby screaming bloody murder …" he sighed and shook his head. "You poor women go through so much. You're lucky you have a guy like Farlan who appreciates you."

Isabel snorted a little into her drink. If Eren knew just how much she had to kick and scream at Farlan to change Evie's nappy, he'd run a mile. "Yeah," she said with a laugh. "I've got myself a prized pig there."

Eren chuckled.

Mikasa edged over to them, Evie balanced on her hip. It looked like such a natural pose for her that it shocked Eren for a moment. Mikasa hadn't seemed the most maternal person in the world, but apparently Evie had brought out those qualities in a lot of unexpected people. Eren knew his sister would never admit it, but she adored Evie whenever she got to spend time with the little one. She'd get attached and would need to be wrestled to let the little girl go.

"Eren!" Evie chimed making grabby fists at her godfather. "Eren, upsie!"

Rolling her eyes Mikasa dropped a kiss on the little girls head. "Traitor," she whispered affectionately before handing her over to Eren. "Take care of my disciple," she said.

"Yes captain!" Eren grinned, giving his sister a mock salute.

If he hadn't been holding the baby, she would have flipped him off.

"I'm amazed at how much your sister has taken to Evie," Isabel said. "She didn't really seem like the type."

"Trust me, it's freaking us all out," Eren agreed. "Mum can't wait until she has a boyfriend. Then it'll be full-steam ahead on the baby-wagon."

"Hey, don't judge!" Isabel nudged him. "No one thought I was the type to be mature enough to handle a child. Now look at me!"

Eren rolled his eyes. "Would you _like_ to hold your child?"

Isabel grinned wolfishly before trading her drink for her baby. Eren watched as the older woman smoothed her daughters hair back, kissed her forehead and then proceeded to rock her gently against her chest. Evie accepted all the attention, her bright eyes gazing up at her mum.

Eren smiled before leaving the two to their little moment and heading back over to Levi.

.

.

Levi scanned the garden with all the people standing in little groups.

It irked him to be here. He didn't really know that many people. There was that one guy, Austin, from Farlan's work that he'd met that one time several years ago, but the rest were a mystery to him. He'd opted to hang out with his friend by the barbecue in case of any fire related incidents.

Farlan and fire did not mix.

He took a swig from his beer and adjusted his glasses on his nose.

Down the other end of the garden, Eren and Isabel were standing side-by-side in the sunshine. Eren was perhaps the best thing that Levi could have ever asked for. Not simply because he was adorable and funny, or even that he was an amazing shag, but because he kept Isabel away from him.

He also stopped Levi from going over to Farlan's flat and murdering the redheaded girl, but that was another matter entirely.

It was strange to think how far things had come since little Evie was born. Levi and Eren actually had to schedule themselves for what nights they could and couldn't have sex. Friday nights were reserved for going for a Chinese like they used to do, only now Isabel and Farlan had to leave at a sensible time to put the baby to bed. Alternating Sundays would see them sat around in the living room with age-appropriate shows playing on Netflix whilst they played with Evie on the squishie mat. Eren often commented, once Evie had been taken home, that Levi looked really hot when he gave off 'dad vibes'.

When asked what that meant, Eren had simply said that when Levi wore a loose shirt, jeans and socks with a cup of tea in his hands, he looked gorgeous.

Levi had failed to understand the brats' logic, but hadn't argued.

He personally found it hilarious and cute when Eren would build a block tower and Evie would kick it down. That never seemed to get old.

"Dude, listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Farlan snapped, bringing him out of his musings.

"What?" Levi snapped back.

"I asked if these looked done to you."

"You know, you really shouldn't offer to cook meat if you don't know what it looks like when it's cooked," he stated drily, taking another swig from his bottle.

"Fine, I say they're done. If anyone gets food poisoning it's on your head."

"Like fuck it is!"

"Here," Farlan brandished the spatula at him. "You take over. I need to go and check on something anyway."

Levi rolled his eyes and snatched the spatula out of his friend's hand, glaring at his back as the blonde retreated into the house.

The meat only had a few more minutes to go on the fire anyway.

Just then a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, making him jolt. Eren's chin nestled into the crook of his neck and he felt a pair of warm lips kiss up his neck. He swatted the arms at his waist, but Eren wasn't deterred.

"What're you after, brat?" he asked.

Eren shrugged. "Just hadn't heard your voice in like ten minutes. Was getting withdrawal."

Levi snorted. "Fuck off about withdrawal brat. Now that you've convinced me to wean off that damned e-cig, I'm itching to attack people. Don't be first on the list."

Another kiss to his neck. "I know it's been a little hard," Eren murmured gently, "But I am so proud of you for even attempting this!"

Levi scoffed.

"Don't do that," Eren pouted, resting his forehead against the back of Levi's. "I don't expect perfection, Levi. I just … I want you to be as healthy as you can for as long as you can."

"Eren whatever damage may be there, it's a done deal."

"Yeah, I get that."

Levi pursed his lips. He stroked a hand over Eren's arm. "Don't worry about me, kid. I'll live a long, happy life berating you."

Eren chuckled. "Yeah, I look forward to it."

"GET A ROOM!" Mikasa yelled out from across the garden.

Levi flipped her off.

A series of chuckles followed.

"Alright you lot!" Levi called out, his deep voice stopping most of the chit-chat. "Come and get your food while it's hot!"

.

.

As the day wore on, more and more people arrived to celebrate Farlan and Isabel's ten year anniversary. Eren was still amazed that they'd been together for so long and has only just gotten around to having a baby. Said little girl was being bounced gently on Levi's hip as he walked her around the edge of the garden and showing her all the different types of flowers that Carla had planted at the beginning of summer.

It was amazing how much knowledge the man retained of the most non-sequential things.

Eren watched as his lover plucked a bright pink flower from a winding vine and tickled Evie's nose with the petals. A bright smile lit her little face up as she made to grab the flower. Levi pulled it just out of reach before poking her nose with it again. She giggled and blushed.

Levi pressed a kiss to her head and slipped the flower behind her ear.

By 6pm, Eren needed to take a break from being around people. He was pretty sure he had a little bit of sunburn and wanted to rub some cream into his skin before it got too bad. The instant quiet in his childhood bedroom was soothing as the coolness rushed over his skin. He shivered as he clawed his shirt off, revelling in the tranquillity of the moment for a few minutes. He was pleasantly surprised when, five minutes late, Levi walked into his bedroom and locked the door behind him.

Eren smirked, shirtless, cream in his hands and offered the tube to Levi. "Want to help me?"

Levi tossed the tube to one side and grabbed a fistful of Eren's hair, dragging him down for a kiss. "I've been desperate to get you alone all day, brat!" he growled.

A ripple of excitement rushed through Eren. "Well you have me now."

Levi growled, nipping at his collarbone. "I'm so on edge all I want to do is fuck you until you scream."

Eren chuckled. "I'd love nothing more. Unfortunately, _everyone_ would hear us."

"You think that'll stop me?" Levi challenged.

"Er … I was hoping it would?"

"No, you weren't."

"No, I wasn't." Levi smirked, initiating a slow, burning kiss that made Eren's toes curl. "Oh, it's so unfair how good your mouth feels!" he whined.

Levi chuckled. "I can do other things with my mouth if you like," he teased, "but it does mean you'll have to be very, _very_ quiet. Understand?"

Eren nodded breathlessly.

He bit down on his bottom lip as Levi sank down to his knees and swiftly unfastened the khaki shorts hanging low on Eren's hips. His cool, long fingers wrapped around Eren's dick and drew it out into the cool air. His hot breath ghosted over Eren's thighs for a moment before he licked his lover's dick from the base to the tip.

A shiver ran through Eren. He had to lean back on his desk to keep himself steady.

His knees felt weak as Levi started to stroke his cock, his tongue teasing him every so often. He could feel how wet he was getting, the precum already glistening over his head.

He let out a low groan when Levi took his head into his mouth, the burning wet heat making Eren's eyes roll back into his head.

It took all his willpower not to thrust into Levi's throat.

Glancing down, he felt his insides jolt as how sexy the older man looked. Even if he was just wearing a collared shirt and shorts, the way his grey eyes looked up at Eren made the younger man feel like the luckiest guy on the planet. Another tremor racked through him as Levi slowly started sucking his dick, gradually taking more and more of him into his mouth.

"Oh fuck, Levi!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

He tried to weave his fingers through the older man's hair to coax him to go further, but Levi wouldn't let that happen.

He grabbed hold of Eren's wrists and pinned both of them to his sides, trapping his arms in position. He had no choice but to stand there and accept whatever Levi was willing to offer him. Eren groaned again, doing his best to remain still. Every so often, he would twitch.

Levi started to pick up the pace, his hand working on Eren's balls as he deep-throated his cock.

Releasing his dick, Levi kept his hand on his lover and stroked him as he licked his lips. "I told you, you need to be quiet."

"It's difficult!" Eren growled. "I want you to do such bad things to me."

"Oh?" Levi quirked an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like fuck me hard over his desk. I want to feel your cock inside me, pounding me hard."

As he spoke, Levi tightened his grip, fisting the younger man faster and faster.

"Do you want me to spank you, Eren?"

"God, yes! It's been weeks!"

"Poor baby," Levi smirked. "Is the big bad teacher not giving you enough attention?"

"No, sir, you're not!" Eren dropped his head back and stifled a moan. Levi continued to work on his weeping dick, every so often giving it a lick.

"Maybe if you're a good boy, I'll do whatever you want tonight."

"You're an evil bastard!" he hissed.

Levi chuckled. "You love it."

"Levi … please suck my dick! Please suck my dick! I want you to make me c-come!"

Levi smoothed a hand up Eren's torso and tweaked one of his nipples. "You'll have to beg some more."

"Jesus, _please_ Levi!" Eren pleaded, gasping desperately as Levi kept stroking him. He was getting close to the edge, but could easily falter at any given moment if Levi didn't hurry up and make him finish. " _Please_ Levi! I … I need you to make me come!"

"Such a good boy," Levi purred huskily, before taking all of Eren into his mouth.

The younger man let out a fairly loud groan, earning him a sharp smack.

Eren hissed, but didn't care.

All he cared about was the way Levi sucked his dick, hard and fast, his tongue doing evil things to his sensitive spot. His knees were weak and trembling. He was barely able to keep himself upright as stars flashed before his eyes.

As Eren came, Levi took it all in his mouth with barely a grimace.

When he was sure that Eren had finished, he gave one final suck of the sensitive head, before releasing his lover and straightening up. Eren was leaning back against the wall behind his desk, dazed and flustered. His shorts were still undone, his flaccid cock retreating. Levi snagged a few tissues from the box on the nightstand and quietly spat the cum into the tissues. He'd definitely need to rinse his mouth out, before going back downstairs.

Tossing the tissues into the bin, Levi turned his attention back to Eren.

The younger man may have been dazed and exhausted, but he looked up at Levi with clear, understanding eyes.

They'd never spoken about Levi's issue with bodily fluids, but Eren didn't seem offended. If anything, he seemed to understand the issue without ever having to ask him about it.

That was why Levi loved him.

With gentle hands, Levi helped a languid Eren get dressed again, combed his fingers through the thick brunette hair until he looked less like bedhead, and then pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lover's lips. "We should probably get back downstairs. They're probably wondering where we've gone."

Eren shrugged, "Whatever they're thinking, they'd be one hundred percent right."

Levi rolled his eyes before offering his hand to Eren.

Together, they left the bedroom and made their way back outside to the party.

.

.

Fairly lights and lanterns had been lit up around the edges of the garden and hanging from the trees, giving a very other-worldly vibe to the party. The music had changed tempo, going from cheesy school-yard songs to a more grown-up variation. People seemed to have mellowed out a little, the suns heat having taken its toll on people. The younger kids were in the living room watching a movie. Parents flitted back and forth to check-in on them.

For her part, Isabel looked radiant as ever as she cradled a drowsy Evie against her chest.

When her eyes landed on Eren and Levi stepping back out onto the patio, she made a bee-line for them. "I don't believe you two!" she hissed with a grin. "I have to have a sex schedule and you two can just go and bonk whenever people's heads are turned! Not fair!"

Eren sputtered, his cheeks going red.

Levi rolled his eyes, "It's not my fault you decided to give birth to a living, breathing contraceptive."

"You say that, but you love her. Let her ruin your sex life for once!"

Eren chuckled as he stroked Evie's cheek, "Don't listen to your mummy, she's just being a moo."

"Don't tell my daughter lies!" she gasped in mock-horror.

" _Are_ they lies?" Eren retorted with a grin.

Isabel scoffed and swatted his hand away.

"Have either of you seen Farlan?" she asked suddenly with a frown. "He said he'd be right back, but I've not seen him."

Eren shrugged, "Sorry, no."

Levi shrugged. "Does it matter? The guys a bad penny, turns up when he's not wanted."

Isabel smacked his arm.

"Everyone quiet!" came a voice from the patio door. It was Carla. "We're bringing out the cake! Get ready to sing!"

"Sing?" Eren frowned. "It's not a birthday."

The lights dimmed down and Carla opened the doors as wide as possible, before leading everyone in a song.

" _Happy ten years to you!"_

Farlan emerged in the doorway, carrying a cake so big he needed both hands and a sturdy tray to slowly bring it outside.

" _Happy ten years to you!"_

He set the cake down on the table. Isabel went up to his side and cuddled into him, closing her eyes as he wrapped an arm around her chest.

" _Happy ten years, Issy and Farlan!_ "

Farlan dropped a kiss on her head.

" _Happy ten years to you!_ "

Isabel grinned, bouncing on her feet. She leaned down and beat Farlan to blowing out all the candles. She was so excited that it took her a moment or two to register it. Her mouth worked soundlessly as she stared down at the cake.

"What the fuck …" she breathed before reality sank in and she screamed.

* * *

 **A/N: WHAT'S UP WITH THE CAKE?!**


	35. Epilogue: One Year Later

**A/N:** **Thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews, I really do love and appreciate them! Here's to the final chapter! I hope you like it! x**

* * *

 **Epilogue**

 _ **~ One Year Later ~  
**_

Eren swallowed thickly and glanced at his reflection again.

"Fuck!" he hissed to himself. His palms were starting to sweat again. He needed to get a grip on himself. "It's just one day," he told himself. "One day, and then you can go back to sitting around in your underwear."

He tugged at his bow-tie again.

The heart of summer baked the world outside and all Eren could do was panic and get himself more flustered. He almost wanted to take his sister's advice and 'go take a cold shower' to settle his nerves. He'd never been too good with crowds, not really. Today he was going to have so many eyes on him at any one time, and the pressure was bubbling away in his head. Pretty soon he was going to have smoke coming out of his ears.

He shifted awkwardly in the suit and tried his best not to rake his nervous fingers through his hair. He'd managed to get it styled pretty nicely first thing that morning –no way was he going to mess up the sheer effort it had taken to look presentable. Not today, of all days.

A knock on the door distracted him.

Opening it, he peered out into the hall and sighed with relief to see his mother.

"Hi mum," he smiled wanly, letting her into the room to give him a hug.

"I wondered where you'd gotten to," she said as she closed the door behind herself. "How're you feeling? Nervous?"

"A little," Eren admitted. "It's just … all this expectation is making me jittery."

Carla nodded, giving her son a sympathetic smile. Eren liked it, had always liked it, when she smiled. It made her look years younger, even though a touch of grey had started to creep into her dark tresses. She came to stand in front of him and adjusted the tie around his neck. He honestly wished she would rip it off and set fire to it, but hey, he could dream right?

Who the hell wore a tie in the middle of summer anyway?

"You look so handsome all dressed up like this," she said, a quiver in her voice.

"I'm glad you think so," Eren groused. "I can't wait for this day to be over and just wear my boxers and a vest,"

Carla tutted and swatted his arm affectionately, "Don't you start that rubbish. This is a big day!"

Eren sighed, "Yes, mum, I know. I'm just saying I do this sort of shit for Levi and that's it. This isn't my sort of scene and I'm not about to make a habit of it."

"Levi does loads of things that he wouldn't normally do."

"I'm aware," Eren grinned, fond memories of taking Levi to an amusement park for the first time resurfacing. "Eh, it's only one day right?"

Carla chuckled and nodded. "Exactly, it's all about balance."

"Hey mum …"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"You like Levi, right?"

Carla's eyes looked up at him with amusement and concern. "Darling, of course I do."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you like him? For me?"

"I like him because he makes you laugh," she finally said. Her smile never wavered. "He's uptight, don't get me wrong, but he makes the effort to relax around us. He even gets along with your sister, and that's not something many people can do."

"I don't think whooping her arse at karate counts as liking."

Carla laughed. "Well, they were smiling afterwards, so I'd say it counts."

More fond memories resurfaced in Eren's mind. It gave him butterflies and made him feel even hotter in his suit.

A knock came at the door.

It clicked open and Mikasa poked her head inside. "Hey, you guys nearly ready?" she asked.

"Yes, we were just ironing out some last minute nerves."

"Good because I have a very anxious little girl out here who wants to see her Uncle Eren!"

She'd barely gotten the words out before an anxious pair of blue eyes came into view. Eren felt his heard melt as Evie toddled into the room in a frilly white and blue dress, her sleek red hair curling gently around her cheeks. She grinned toothily up at Eren as he bent down awkwardly in his suit and scooped her up into his arms.

"Hey there little one, I missed you!"

Evie pressed a huge kiss to his cheek and didn't squirm when he picked her up and planted her on his hip. It was such a natural pose for him these days, he didn't think anything of it. He saw a teary glimmer enter his mum's eye and he did his best not to sigh. She still thought he would change his mind about wanting children. As much as he loved Evie, he wasn't sure he and Levi could take a life-time of it. Levi could be quite selfish and Eren just about coped with keeping his own life running, let alone anyone else's.

His mum wasn't convinced though.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

[11:44AM] **Better get ready to come out, kid. We don't have all day.**

Eren rolled his eyes. Trust Levi to try and suck any of the romance out of the day. "Well," he said turning to the other three, "I guess it's time we all head out and get this thing over with."

"Oh Eren!" his mum tutted. "This is a big day, try and be happy about it."

"I'll smile in the photos for you, how about that?"

"I'll take it. Now grab that little missies hand and lets go!"

The venue was beautiful; one of the best manor houses in the British countryside they'd been able to find. The ceilings were high, the ornate windows letting in copious amounts of dazzling sunshine, and the high arches down to the chairs were decorated with thin curtains of white and blue gauze. The flowers were arranged in large ornamental stands at either end of the aisle.

Not that Eren knew why they needed flowers anyway since it was the end of summer, but whatever.

Mikasa and Carla edge down the aisle and into their respective seats. They're sitting close to the front and sit as patiently as possible, Armin on Mikasa's other side looking incredibly dapper in his best suit. His hair and been cut and tamed into a stylish, bright blonde quiff and Eren had to admit it suited his friend.

On the other side of the aisle, Erwin's hulking figure dominated the second row. Eren felt bad for anyone daring to sit directly behind him. They wouldn't be able to see any of the ceremony.

The room really was breath-taking. He had to admit that it looked like something out of a catalogue. Maybe the flowers hadn't been such a bad idea after-all.

From his vantage point he spotted Levi in his steel grey suit and a blue tie. Farlan stood beside him, both men looking like the most elegant and composed versions of themselves. Eren was impressed.

Evie nudged at his leg.

Grinning, Eren bent down so that they were eye-level with one another. "Alright there little one. You remember what you have to do today?"

Her bright blue eyes stared up at him. "I get to throw the flowers!" she chimed.

Chuckling, Eren nodded. "That's right love. Show me how you throw them."

Clutching the little white basket in one hand, Evie crumpled a pink flower in her hand and tossed it with all her might. It flopped, barely grazing Eren's chin and he felt his insides melt. "Well done, petal! You ready to show everyone how well you can throw flowers?"

Evie nodded her head eagerly, her cheeks bright pink with excitement.

Taking her hand in his own, he turned to face the aisle, "Alright little one, let's show them whose boss!"

"Flower for Eren?"

He was going to turn into a puddle if he wasn't careful. Taking the pink flower from Evie, Eren slipped it behind his ear. Evie beamed up at him, even nodding her little face in approval before he scooped her up in his arms and made his way towards the end of the aisle.

Music followed them as Eren carried Evie, his heart thudding loudly in his ears.

In his arms, Evie threw brightly coloured flowers at the carpet and guests all around her, squealing with delight as they went.

Eren caught Levi's eye and felt his stomach flip. Damn, the man scrubbed up impeccably well.

Levi winked at him.

Eren felt his cheeks heat up as he came to stand at the front, gently setting Evie down on the ground.

The music suddenly changed, and all heads turned to the back of the hall.

Isabel glided into view in a long, mermaid cut dress. It hugged her figure nicely in layers of snow white silk and beads. There was a single stripe of blue cross her waist with an ornate brooch pinned into the fabric. She looked ethereal as she kept pace with her father. The veil was quite impressive, but Eren was still able to see her elated expression and pink cheeks.

Turning his head back to the front he watched as Farlan visibly stopped breathing as he gazed down at his bride. His bright eyes sparkled as she drew nearer, her smile as wide as his own. He looked like the luckiest guy in the world.

Eren looked back at Levi. The older man winked at him –damn why was he so sexy when he did that? –and felt his insides flip.

At the front of the aisle, Isabel's father lifted the veil away from her face and kissed her lovingly on the cheek. Farlan took her hand in his and together they turned to face the efficient.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today …"

As the words melted into the beauty of the moment, Eren couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride. He was grateful to even be in attendance, let alone be the one to help Isabel deal with such a huge event on her own. Farlan had very little interest in the minute details and Levi nodded along with whatever Farlan bemoaned. Isabel had shunned them both, favouring Eren and his tastes. She hadn't wanted anything girly, but had wanted it to by classy, too.

Looking around at the décor, Eren thought they'd nailed it.

Isabel and Farlan said their vows and exchanged their rings.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Isabel barely let the man finish his sentence before she threw her arms around Farlan's neck and kissed him. He staggered, laughing into the kiss and gripping her tightly as everyone applauded.

They walked back down the aisle. Evie slipped out of her seat and hurried over to Eren. Levi crossed the walkway to them and smiled his slow, sexy smirk that made Eren's knees go weak. Before Eren could bend down, Levi scooped up Evie into his arms and took Eren's hand in his free one. They followed the bride and groom outside before everyone else, for the formal photos.

The reception was even more beautiful than the ceremony. Evie was passed around, gaining almost as much attention as her parents. She giggled madly and loved to pose for photos. Isabel and Farlan were almost too happy and excited to even bother with cutting the cake, but Evie really wanted some of the sugar roses, so they quickly cut the cake and mushed it into one another's faces. Isabel was howling with laughter, tears sparkling in her eyes.

Finally they settled down to eat, Isabel and Farlan and Evie at the head table with their parents on either side. Levi and Eren were settled further down the table.

The clinking of the glass made all the chatter ebb away.

Eren felt his heart swell as Levi cleared his throat and stood up, champagne flute in hand.

All eyes turned to him.

"As many of you know, I am Levi Ackerman, Farlan's best man." There were a few whoops of encouragement, which Levi silenced with a glare. "Today, I stand here not only celebrating one, but two of my very closest and dearest friends. Growing up, Farlan was the closest thing I ever had to a brother; we bought our first bikes together, tore the roads up and had a few amazing adventures before I was shipped off to the army.

"Several years later we met up again, this time with Isabel in tow. She was everything I'd ever dreamed of having in a sister, but she quickly became more than that. She became the worst alarm clock in history. She was and is hyper, mad, eccentric and absolutely terrifying when she doesn't get her twenty hours of beauty sleep."

People chuckled throughout the hall.

"However," Levi continued, "She has been a wonderful woman in my life. I couldn't even be standing here today if it wasn't for these two people. Farlan, Isabel; you two are the first people that I ever loved. You have accepted me exactly as I am. You are my family. I'm so happy that you found one another. Not only am I grateful for what you've done for me, but also for helping Eren and me officially get together. It would have suffered greatly without your support."

He raised his glass. Slowly, others raised theirs, too.

"I pray you have a lifetime of madness, laughter and love. And pretty decent coffee, so you don't come and steal mine."

The hall burst into laughter and toasted with cries of 'cheers!', 'what a speech!' and 'BRAVO!'

When Levi settled back into his seat, Eren leaned close and whispered in his ear, "That was a lovely speech. How long did it take you to write?"

"More than I care to admit," Levi stated, quirking a dark eyebrow.

Eren grinned, "Well, it was perfect."

"Thank you."

Eren slid his hand into Levi's. "You're a remarkable man, Levi Ackerman."

"You're not so bad yourself, _Eren Jaeger_."

Eren smirked. He leaned his head against Levi's, kissing the sleek black hair under his chin. People were shifting all around them, getting ready to start dancing in the space marked out in-front of the stage. "Do you want to dance?"

Levi frowned slightly, his grey eyes glancing over towards the couples hurrying to the dance floor. Isabel had somehow snuck past them, dragging Farlan alongside. They were already swaying together, little Evie clasped close between them. A huge part of him wanted to say 'no'. However, a larger part of him reasoned, they wouldn't be attending many weddings together. Not really. They didn't know that many people. And if they weren't going to have their own wedding …

"Okay," Levi slid his hand into Eren's. "I'm going to lead."

"Of course, sir."

"Dumb brat," Levi groused, unable to hide the twitch in his lip.

Folding their napkins onto their plates, they stood up and walked towards the dance floor. Levi felt a little too hot and stiff in his suit but he let Eren slot easily between his arms, his hand resting firmly on his lover's hip. Taking Eren's other hand, Levi started to guide them lazily to the slow music that melted in the air like honey.

As they swayed, Eren glanced around the room. "It's almost a shame that we're never going to have this, isn't it?"

Levi hummed, casting an eye around the room. "I suppose. However, we can have a big party anytime. Doesn't mean we need to get married."

"I know, just makes me think, that's all."

Levi looked up at Eren and frowned. Maybe the kid had a point.

"It's okay. Just me thinking out loud," Eren hummed. "I still can't believe they're actually married! Look at them being all grown-up."

Levi snorted, "And we get stuck with looking after a little girl who things she is a bumble bee."

Eren tutted, "You _adore_ Evie. There's nothing you wouldn't do for her!"

"She does have my resting bitch-face down, I'll give her that," Levi smirked.

"It's just surreal. Do you ever wonder where the next year or so will take us?"

Levi blinked up at his lover and felt the air sucked out of his lungs. "Sometimes," he conceded. "I also know that you wouldn't even be here with me, if you hadn't text the wrong bloody number a few years ago!"

Eren laughed outright, the sound rumbling through his chest as he clutched Levi tighter. "Aren't you grateful I'm as dumb as you claim I am?"

Levi shook his head, "Never dumb, brat, you're many things but 'dumb' is not one of them."

"Woah there, Levi. If you carry on giving me compliments, I may just need to bed you tonight."

"I thought you were going to anyway," Levi challenged.

"Oh, I am," Eren smirked down at him. "Doesn't mean you can't butter me up first, though."

"You're an awful flirt."

"I know."

"No, I'm serious kid. You're an _awful_ flirt."

Eren let out another howl of laughter, the rumbling making Levi's heart quake in his chest. He couldn't contain his smile as he leaned his head on Eren's chest as they swayed to the music.

By the time 10PM rolled around, it was time for Isabel and Farlan to go off to their honeymoon suite. A tipsy Isabel cuddled her daughter tightly and smothered her little cheeks in bright pink kisses. Evie giggled and swatted tiredly at her mum. It wasn't that late, but Farlan and Isabel were clearly eager to make baby number two, and Levi was so worn-out from the entire day that he wanted nothing more than to go to their hotel room and relax.

Farlan scooped Evie up and walked over to where Levi stood beside Eren. Handing the yawning toddler over to his best man, Farlan said, "Take care of my little princess, yeah? No ice cream for breakfast, Eren!"

Eren looked affronted. "I would never!"

Farlan rolled his eyes, unable to hide his big goofy grin. "I'm married, man! I'm married!"

Levi snorted and smacked Farlan on the back, "Then go back to your wife before she bites the drivers head off!"

Farlan's eyes sparkled, "Yeah … My wife."

He turned, as if in a daze, and hurried back across the gravel path to where the cab was waiting. He ducked inside, slammed the door closed, and they drove away, Isabel waving frantically out of the window.

Eren and Levi waved until they were out of sight. Evie yawned and burrowed into the crook of Levi's neck. "Awww," Eren crooned, "She's knackered."

"Let's get her into bed," Levi said, nodding his head back towards the hotel.

.

It didn't take long before they'd stripped off and into comfortable clothing. A small case of Evie's clothes had been packed for them, and Levi bent down by the edge of the bed and helped ease her little flowery shoes off her feet. He dressed her gently into her cotton pyjamas and pressed a doting kiss to her forehead before scooping her up.

Eren felt exhausted and happy as he watched Levi tuck Evie in between them. It was quite late but the poor little thing definitely needed cuddles before falling asleep. They played some mindless TV on a low volume in the background. Evie's eyelids drooped and she yawned. Clearly being the best flower-girl in all the land was a tiring job. She'd done it brilliantly though.

Leaning close on their pillows, heads bent together as Evie started to drift off, Eren cast a look down at Levi. "We're really lucky you know," he murmured quietly, tilting his head so that he touched Levi's.

"In what manner?"

"That after all this mess, all the drama, we managed to make things work between us to get to this point."

"You don't have any regrets?" Levi asked.

"No, none that I can think of. You?"

"Just one."

"Oh?" Eren frowned. What could Levi possibly regret after being together for over two years?

Levi looked up at him, his eyes wide and vulnerable in the soft glow of the lamplight. "I regret the times I got so caught up in my head. I was and still am head over heels for you. I know I don't really show it but it's true."

"I think you've gotten better since this little one came into our lives," Eren smiled. "She's softened you."

"How devious of her."

"Utterly shameful."

"Still love her though."

"Unashamedly?"

"Irrevocably."

"Good enough," Eren grinned. Reaching under Evie's curled up body, he laced his fingers with Levi's and squeezed. "Thank you for replying to a moronic young man who couldn't work out basic technology."

Levi chuckled. "Well thank you for making sure that young man was deliciously attractive to make-up for his lack of brains."

Eren tried, and failed, to mask his laughter. "Are you saying you're only with me for my body?"

"Look at that, getting smarter already!" Levi teased. He leaned down to whisper into Evie's hair, "Maybe one day he'll be at your level."

"Hey!" Eren protested in a whisper as he shoved Levi. "You're lucky I love you."

"I know I am."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, heads tilted together, their thumbs stroking the soft skin of the other's hand. For the first time in ages, Levi fell asleep before he did. It only seemed to happen when Evie was around, and Eren silently thanked the universe for giving Levi a little angel to help him rest. Turning the channel over, Eren curled an arm around Levi's shoulders and made sure Evie was warm as idly watched a late-night rerun.

He could get used to this. One by one, Levi's barriers were coming down and perhaps one day they would have a little trio all their own. Until then, whether it came to pass or not, Eren was eternally grateful to have Levi. He was everything Eren had ever wanted without realising it. They complimented one another well, even if they needed to work on the verbal side of things after all this time. Eren could never trade what they had for a fantasy. They had a family, not a common one by any means that was for sure, but it was wonderful and filled with love.

It was their's.

Levi shifted in his sleep and curled a fist into Eren's shirt, attempting to get closer. Eren unwound himself and quickly nestled Evie into her cot, covering her with a blanket before returning to the bed. Levi had instantly curled into the warmth of his lover's body. Eren wound his arms around him and pressed gentle kisses over Levi's forehead. He chest ached with the love that thrummed inside. And to think, he'd almost missed this chance at meeting his soulmate.

Texting that wrong number maybe have been one of the stupidest things he'd ever done in his life. However, it was also the best thing. It had led to a happiness he'd never known he would feel. It had led him to Levi.

If given the chance to do it all over again, he would.

And he wouldn't change a thing.

 _ **The End.**_

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there you guys have it!**

 **It's been a long journey to get to this point and I really do love and appreciate the support everyone has given to encourage this story through to the end. It's meant a lot to me, and I've loved writing these characters, loved watching them grow into something wonderful.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the ending and leave a review behind!**

 **Stay tuned for my next AoT Levi x Eren story called 'Smoke & Strawberries'.**

 **Have a lovely summer!**

 **Belle x**


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